By ALAN BLINDER
August 25, 2017
HOUSTON — Hurricane Harvey, powered by the Gulf of Mexico’s warm waters and poised to strike the United States as a major hurricane, swept toward Texas on Friday, when high winds and dozens of inches of rain were expected to begin battering coastal and inland communities alike.
• The storm, which strengthened to Category 2 overnight, could make landfall as a Category 3 hurricane or higher — with winds of at least 111 miles per hour — by early Saturday near Corpus Christi, Tex., the National Weather Service said.
• After making landfall, Harvey is expected to stall over Texas and could dump more than 35 inches of rain onto some areas, overwhelming bayous and flooding streets.
• For breaking news, follow @NYTNational on Twitter. National correspondents tracking the storm include @mannyNYT in Corpus Christi, @alanblinder and @ckrausss in Houston, @viaSimonRomero in Albuquerque, N.M., and @jswatz in New York.
Leave town, coastal counties urge.
Seven coastal counties from Corpus Christi to the western end of Galveston ordered mandatory evacuations of at least some areas. Mayor Joe McComb of Corpus Christi encouraged residents to leave voluntarily.
Watch the storm intensify.
Anthony Farnell, the chief meteorologist for Global News in Canada, tweeted a video Thursday of the intensifying storm.
The turmoil could easily last into next week.
“It is critical that users not focus on the exact forecast track of Harvey since cycle-to-cycle adjustment are likely,” the National Hurricane Center said in one of its updates on Thursday. “All locations within the hurricane and storm surge warning areas should be preparing for the possibility of major hurricane-force winds and life-threatening storm surge.”
With the ultimate path of the storm uncertain, the governors of Louisiana and Texas have declared emergencies. In addition to the evacuation orders from some counties, school districts have canceled classes, and residents have been rushing to prepare their homes and businesses. — ALAN BLINDER
The new head of FEMA faces his first big test.
With the storm, the Trump administration faces its first test in dealing with a major natural disaster. The storm will also be the first major challenge for the Federal Emergency Management Agency under Brock Long, who was confirmed as director in June by the Senate.
Mr. Long was the director of Alabama’s disaster relief agency when Hurricane Katrina hit the state in 2005, and his selection has inspired confidence among lawmakers and state disaster relief officials.
Lanita Lloyd, the president of the International Association of Emergency Managers, a trade group, told The Times last month that Mr. Long was battle-tested.
“He’s someone we know and trust and will have the agency prepared for whatever disaster might hit.” Read more » — RON NIXON
Researchers cite a risk of environmental disaster in Texas.
The petrochemical industry from Galveston to Houston is an environmental catastrophe waiting to happen, according to scientists who have used models to predict a worst-case scenario for the Gulf Coast. Roy Scranton, an assistant professor of English at the University of Notre Dame, described their efforts in a Times opinion essay last year.
Among the predictions from one modeled scenario: “More than 200 petrochemical storage tanks have been wrecked, more than 100 million gallons of petroleum and chemicals spilled. Damages for the region are estimated at more than $100 billion. More than 3,500 are dead.” Read more »
The president shared some disaster preparation tips.
President Trump tweeted a short video of himself visiting FEMA. The tweet included links to help residents prepare for the worst.