Texans are bracing as Hurricane Harvey—which was officially upgraded to a Category 2 storm as of 1 a.m. Friday—barrels toward land. Experts are expecting the storm to intensify, reaching Category 3 with winds topping 100 mph before it makes landfall Friday night or early Saturday.
The storm was 180 miles southeast of coastal Corpus Christi as of 5 a.m. Friday.
Joe McComb, Corpus Christi’s mayor, urged residents to take precautions during a press conference Thursday, telling those in low-lying areas to “get out of Dodge.”
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He didn’t rule out mandatory evacuations and cautioned residents against waiting out the storm.
“I’m not going to risk our fire people and police people to risk themselves to get somebody out of the home,” he said. “They got relatives, and they got family, and we don’t want to put them in harm’s way because someone wanted to stay in their home.”
On Thursday night, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said he had spoken with President Trump, the head of Homeland Security, and the head of FEMA about preparations for the storm.
Harvey is expected to make landfall 250 miles southeast of Corpus Christi but hurricane warnings are in place from Brownsville to Houston. Tropical-storm warnings extended as far inland as San Antonio.
As of Friday morning, both the Port of Corpus Christi and that of Galveston had closed, three cruise ships from Galveston had been diverted to safer waters, and Abbott had requested 700 National Guard members and there were warning of isolated tornadoes.
Hurricane Harvey is seen approaching the Texas Gulf Coast, in this NOAA GOES East satellite image taken at 7:07 a.m. ET Friday.
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A sign reading “Be Nice Harvey” was left behind on a boarded up business, in Port Aransas, Texas. Port Aransas is under a mandatory evacuation for Hurricane Harvey.
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Martin Quintanilla fills sandbags as he and other residents prepare for Hurricane Harvey in Corpus Christi.
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Residents filled sandbags as they prepare for Hurricane Harvey in Corpus Christi. Two counties ordered mandatory evacuations as the storm gathers strength as it drifts toward the Texas Gulf Coast.
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An employee, left, holding “Out of Order” signs for gas pumps walks between vehicles waiting to refuel at an HEB Fuel gas station in Houston on Thursday.
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Aaron Berg fills up a gas can and his portable generator in Houston.
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Motorists in Houston streamed past a sign Thursday warning of Harvey as the storm intensified in the Gulf of Mexico.
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A red warning flag flaps in the wind, in Port Aransas, Texas.
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A customer loads a bottle of water into a shopping cart at an HEB Grocery in Houston on Thursday.
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Workers cover a Corpus Christi business with plywood in preparation.
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The few remaining bottles of water and other drinks at a Kroger grocery store in Houston.
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Customers push shopping carts filled with bottles of water and other supplies at an HEB Grocery store in Houston.
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The chips and snack foods section of a Houston Walmart, almost empty.
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A customer pushes a shopping cart through a parking lot outside an HEB Grocery in Houston on Thursday.
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Residents shop for emergency supplies at a Randall’s Food Markets store, in Houston on Thursday night.
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