Harvey the most powerful hurricane to hit Texas in 50 years
UPDATE @ August 28 2017, 7:30am: At least five people are dead and more than a dozen are injured as Tropical Storm Harvey pummels south-east Texas.
More than 1,000 people have been rescued, with hundreds still trapped in cars and homes by floodwaters caused by unprecedented rainfall.
The National Weather Service advised that parts of Houston and just west of the city could receive 1270 millimeters (50 inches) of rain as Harvey stalls over Texas.
“This rain will lead to a prolonged, dangerous, and potentially catastrophic flooding event well into next week,” the National Weather Service (NWS) said in a statement.
— NWS WPC (@NWSWPC) August 27, 2017
This event is unprecedented & all impacts are unknown & beyond anything experienced. Follow orders from officials to ensure safety. #Harvey pic.twitter.com/IjpWLey1h8
— NWS (@NWS) August 27, 2017
Harvey slammed into Texas late on Friday as a category four hurricane with winds of 209 kilometres per hour. It is the strongest storm to hit the state since 1961.
The storm ripped off roofs, snapped trees, triggered tornadoes and flash floods and cut off power to nearly 230,000 people, mostly in the Houston area.
EARLIER @ August 27 2017, 5:55am: It was billed as the biggest storm to hit the US since Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, and Hurricane Harvey didn’t disappoint.
The 2005 storm was the country’s costliest natural disaster and claimed more than 1200 lives during impact and subsequent flooding.
So far, no deaths have been reported since Harvey made landfall on Friday night (local time), but as a category four, it is the most powerful hurricane to hit Texas in more than 50 years.
It hit about 48km northeast of Corpus Christi packing 209km/h winds, before slowly moving inland, dumping torrential rain which is expected to cause catastrophic flooding.
Up to 102cm to 127cm of rain is predicted.
Major devastation in Holiday Beach, TX just north of Rockport, TX worst yet we have seen from #Harvey @breakingweather pic.twitter.com/vZ9tBhyz2p
— Reed Timmer (@ReedTimmerAccu) August 26, 2017
1800 members of the military have been brought in to conduct search-and-rescue operations on the ground and by air.
They also will help with the subsequent clean up.
Here are the key messages for #Hurricane #Harvey for the 10 am CDT advisory. https://t.co/tW4KeGdBFb pic.twitter.com/2BlWar7MMU
— NHC Atlantic Ops (@NHC_Atlantic) August 26, 2017
