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Hurricane Harvey: Texas braces for massive storm | |
(about 1 hour later) | |
Texas is bracing itself for Hurricane Harvey, which may be the worst storm to hit the US mainland in 12 years. | Texas is bracing itself for Hurricane Harvey, which may be the worst storm to hit the US mainland in 12 years. |
Harvey, currently a category two storm in the Gulf of Mexico, is expected to make landfall on Texas' central coast late on Friday or early Saturday. | |
The National Hurricane Center said storm surges may bring life-threatening floods in and around Houston. | The National Hurricane Center said storm surges may bring life-threatening floods in and around Houston. |
The storm may bring 97cm (35in) of rain, 130mph (210km/h) winds and 12ft storm surges, say forecasters. | |
At 07:00 local time (12:00 GMT), the eye of Harvey was about 80km (50 miles) east of the US-Mexico border and heading north-west at about 10mph, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said. | |
Harvey - which has been gaining strength - will also strike at the heart of Texas's oil refining industry. | Harvey - which has been gaining strength - will also strike at the heart of Texas's oil refining industry. |
Houston, the fourth biggest city in the US, could face up to 20in of rain over the coming days, officials there said. | |
Meteorologists are warning of extremely high volumes of rainfall as the storm stalls over the middle Texas coast. | |
They say Harvey could remain in the area, dumping rain until the middle of next week. | |
On top of that, the central Texas coast is likely to see a significant storm surge - this happens when low pressure at sea "lifts" tides to a level higher than normal, up to 12ft in this case, and high winds then blow the water in land. | |
Energy companies have been evacuating staff from offshore platforms in the Gulf of Mexico. | Energy companies have been evacuating staff from offshore platforms in the Gulf of Mexico. |
Texan oil refineries on land are also shutting down in preparation for the storm. As a result, US fuel prices have reached a three-week high. | |
In the latest developments: | |
"Now is the time to urgently hide from the wind," the National Weather Service (NWS) said in a bulletin. | |
"Failure to adequately shelter may result in serious injury, loss of life or immense human suffering." | "Failure to adequately shelter may result in serious injury, loss of life or immense human suffering." |
Joe McComb, mayor of Corpus Christi, a coastal city of more than 300,000 people, urged householders to take the warnings seriously and evacuate low-lying areas. | |
"I hope people will listen to forecasters when they say 'beware of flash floods," he said. "Flash floods can come quickly, and they can be deadly." | "I hope people will listen to forecasters when they say 'beware of flash floods," he said. "Flash floods can come quickly, and they can be deadly." |
According to the NHC, the wind speed is currently almost 110mph, though gusts are even stronger. | |
The NWS said on Friday it expected Harvey to make landfall as a Category Three hurricane. | |
If it does, it will be the strongest to hit the US since October 2005, when Hurricane Wilma struck the coast of Florida. | |
Wilma left 87 people dead, and was part of a record-breaking hurricane season that included Katrina, which devastated New Orleans and killed nearly 2,000 people in August of that year. | Wilma left 87 people dead, and was part of a record-breaking hurricane season that included Katrina, which devastated New Orleans and killed nearly 2,000 people in August of that year. |
Are you in the region? How are you preparing for Hurricane Harvey? If you have any information to share with the BBC, you can email haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk. | Are you in the region? How are you preparing for Hurricane Harvey? If you have any information to share with the BBC, you can email haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk. |
Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also contact us in the following ways: | Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also contact us in the following ways: |
Or use the form below | Or use the form below |