Expected to Make Landfall as Cat 3…
You are using an outdated browser. Please upgrade your browser to improve your experience. NBC News works best with JavaScript turned on Feedback advertisement advertisement Storyline Hurricane Harvey DEVELOPING News Hurricane Harvey Aug 25 2017, 10:06 am ET Hurricane Harvey Strengthens to Category 2, Mandatory Evacuations Ordered Thousands of people fled Texas early Friday as Hurricane Harvey, a life-threatening Category 2 storm, gained strength and hurtled toward the coast. Homeowners, businesses and government officials were scrambling to prepare for the potentially devastating storm. Forecasters said it could lash the state with significant rain, 125-mph winds and up to 12-foot storm surges. The seven Texas counties on the coast have ordered mandatory evacuations of tens of thousands of residents from low-lying areas, according to the Associated Press. The message from state officials was clear: Get out while you can. “A lot of people are taking this storm for granted, thinking it may not pose much of a danger to them,” Gov. Greg Abbott told NBC affiliate KPRC in Houston. “Please heed warnings and evacuate as soon as possible.” Watch Live: Satellite Map of Hurricane Harvey autoplay autoplay Copy this code to your website or blog Harvey, driven by warm Gulf of Mexico waters, was expected to make landfall as a Category 3 storm just east of Corpus Christi around 1 a.m. Saturday. No storm that strong has hit Texas since 2008. The last Category 3 storm to pummel the U.S. was Hurricane Wilma in 2005 in Florida. The National Hurricane Center warmed Harvey was “dangerously approaching” the Texas coast early Friday, picking up more power and packing maximum sustained winds of 110 mph. 7 AM Hurricane Harvey update. Harvey is expected to make landfall late tonight into early tomorrow morning along the Texas coast. #txwx pic.twitter.com/lqJ4Q2kMjQ — NWS Corpus Christi (@NWSCorpus) August 25, 2017 Related: Gas Prices Rise as Hurricane Harvey Catches Oil Companies by Surprise The agency warned that “life-threatening and devastating flooding” was expected, adding that “Harvey is expected to become a major hurricane before it reaches the middle Texas coast.” Corpus Christi Mayor Joe McComb urged residents to be proactive — before it is too late. “We are going to, in the strongest possible terms, encourage residents in the low-lying areas, as they say, to get out of Dodge,” McComb said at a news conference Thursday. At least 10 critically ill babies were flown Thursday from Driscoll Children’s Hospital in Corpus Christi to Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth, more than 400 miles north, to ride out the storm, NBC Dallas-Fort Worth reported. Hurricane Harvey barrels toward Texas coast 2:41 autoplay autoplay Copy this code to your website or blog “They made a wise decision to get them out as quickly as possible,” said Debbie Boudreaux, Cook’s director of transport and fleet services. “The problem keeping them there is the ventilation system they’re on — the lifesaving ventilator — would not be able to be maintained without electricity.” In the town of Rockport, about 20 miles northeast of Corpus Christi, 90 elderly and fragile people were evacuated Thursday night from the Park Manor skilled nursing facility to its sister facility in Bee Cave, near Austin. Johnielle Johnson, the Bee Cave facility’s director of nursing, told NBC affiliate KXAN of Austin that a therapy gym was being turned into living space for 14 of the evacuees, while the rest will double up in rooms occupied by current residents. The bread section of a Kroger store is empty as people prepare for the possible arrival of Hurricane Harvey on Aug. 24, 2017 in Houston, Texas. Joe Raedle / Getty Images Homeland Security Adviser Tom Bossert briefed President Donald Trump on the hurricane’s progress and preparations for its landing, a national security official said Thursday afternoon. Abbott on Wednesday declared a state of disaster in 30 counties. Mandatory evacuations were ordered in Texas for the cities of Aransas Pass and Portland and the counties of San Patricio and Brazoria. Authorities in Cameron Parish, Louisiana, meanwhile, ordered mandatory evacuations for areas south of the Intracoastal Water Way effective at 6 a.m. local time. Abbott ordered the Texas State Operations Center to elevate its readiness level and made state resources available for preparation and rescue and recovery efforts. Contributors Daniella Silva and Associated Press Topics Weather, U.S. news First Published Aug 25 2017, 10:06 am ET Next Story Hurricane Harvey Intensifies to Category 2 as It Roars Toward Texas advertisement
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