Hurricane Harvey upgraded to Category 4 with 'life threatening and devastating flooding' forecast
Winds of up to 125 miles per hour and 12-foot high storm surges are forecast to batter the US early on Saturday as Hurricane Harvey makes landfall.
The hurricane has now been upgraded to a powerful Category 4 storm, with severe flood warnings in place.
In some areas of Texas and Louisiana the storm is expected to drop three feet (90cm of rain) as it lingers for several days.
Thousands of people are fleeing Texas with flooding and destruction expected to cause damage on a similar level to 2005’s Hurricane Katrina.
Despite mandatory evacuation orders, many people have decided to stay put, stocking up on supplies and protecting their homes with sandbags.
“We’re suggesting if people are going to stay here, mark their arm with a Sharpie pen with their name and Social Security number,” Rockport Mayor Patrick Rios told journalists on Friday, Reuters reports.
“We hate to talk about things like that. It's not something we like to do but it’s the reality. People don’t listen.”
President Donald Trump tweeted late on Friday: “Storm turned Hurricane is getting much bigger and more powerful than projected. Federal Government is on site and ready to respond. Be safe!”
Harvey is expected to strike Texas’ eastern coastline late on Friday night or early Saturday morning. The National Hurricane Centre predicted heavy rainfall, extreme flooding and hurricane-force wind gusts.
Areas of the upper Texas coast, the centre said, “may be uninhabitable for weeks or months”.
Louisiana and Texas declared states of disaster, authorising the use of state resources to prepare for the storm.
The last Category 4 hurricane to hit Texas was Hurricane Carla, which struck in September 1961. The storm destroyed 1,915 homes, resulted in 34 fatalities and caused damage worth at least $300 million in the state of Texas alone.
