Early this morning, The National Weather Service in Houston, Texas announced that Hurricane Harvey has estimated 100 mph winds. The storm is now a Category 2, and all those in the area (Houston and Corpus Christi) are urged to “Get out now.”
I have spoken w/ @GovAbbott of Texas and @LouisianaGov Edwards. Closely monitoring #HurricaneHarvey developments & here to assist as needed.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 25, 2017
Life-Threatening Storm
According to Fox News, forecasters are warning that the hurricane could bring up to 3 feet of rain, 125 mph winds, and 12-foot storm surges.
With this sort of extreme weather, people can expect to lose power and be cut off from other resources like water and food. Texas stores are already emptying out of bottled water and nonperishable foods.
The warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico are causing this weather emergency.
Follow all of our coverage tracking Hurricane Harvey: https://t.co/e9vzRKVChb pic.twitter.com/1WqpHGWuJJ
— NBC News (@NBCNews) August 25, 2017
Landfall
Harvey is predicted to hit land later this evening (Friday) or early tomorrow between Port O Connor and Matagorda Bay.
“As of late Thursday afternoon, Harvey was roughly 305 miles southeast of Corpus Christi, making its way north-northwest at about 10 m.p.h, with sustained winds clocked at 85 mph.”
“FEMA established an Incident Support Base at Randolph Auxiliary Airfield near Seguin, Texas, filled with supplies such as water, meals, blankets and other resources to be available to potentially affected residents.”
John Barton, a former deputy executive director of the Texas Department of Transportation, predicted state transportation officials will be turning all evacuation routes from coastal areas into one-way traffic headed away from the shore.
It will be hard to predict the flow of traffic since storms like Harvey are so unpredictable.
Storm chaser @ReedTimmerAccu: Hurricane Harvey “is about as life-threatening as it can get” https://t.co/8ZENO4a69j https://t.co/St6hOwgIwP
— CNN (@CNN) August 25, 2017
The last storm of this magnitude, in the Texas area, was in Septemeber of 2008. This storm had 110 Mph winds and caused $22 billion in damage.
State Of Emergency
The governor of Louisiana and the governor of Texas issued an Emergency Declaration for their states.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) announced, “Emergency Declarations trigger the temporary suspension of certain Federal safety regulations for motor carriers and drivers engaged in specific aspects of the emergency relief, including direct assistance for the immediate restoration of essential services (such as electrical, sewer, water, and telecommunications) or essential supplies (such as food, water, medical supplies, and fuel).”
To read the official State of Emergency for Louisiana click here.
To read the official State of Emergency for Texas click here.
The FMCSA also released a travel alert saying, “[Tropical Storm Harvey] expected to bring extremely heavy rainfall, major flooding conditions, and very strong winds to the Texas and Louisiana Gulf Coast regions beginning tomorrow (Friday) and lasting into Wednesday of next week.”
This image depicts the expected rainfall:
Safety First
No load is worth your life or the life of others’ on the road.
If the road is not safe, slow down, pull over, and stop driving. In such states of emergency, people will not be thinking clearly, and will surely act erratically. Please be safe out there.
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