HOUSTON TX — Hurricane Harvey is slowly churning in the Gulf of Mexico and is expected to make landfall late Friday evening as a major hurricane.
The National Weather Service is predicting that Harvey, the first hurricane to hit the Texas coast since 2008, could strike the coastline as a Category 3 hurricane with winds as high as 130 miles per hour, which could damage trees, power lines and homes. (Want to get daily updates about Hurricane Harvey and other events going on in your area? Sign up for the free Houston Patch morning newsletter.)
By comparison, Hurricane Ike was a Category 2 storm when it struck Galveston Island in September 2008, causing $38 billion in damages and killing dozens of people.
The National Weather Services has issued Hurricane Warning from Port Mansfield north of South Padre Island, to Matagorda Island, and a Tropical Storm Warning from north of Matagorda, to High Island and Crystal Beach, KTRK reported.
The local counties affected by the Tropical Storm Warning include Galveston, Harris, Liberty, Brazoria, Fort Bend and Wharton counties.
Mandatory evacuation orders have been issued in Brazoria snd Matagorda County, while voluntary evacuations are underway in Galveston County.
Regardless, some coastal residents were not waiting and were preparing to leave the island Thursday morning, while others who stayed filled sandbags and prepared for a major storm.
The Galveston County Office of Emergency Management announced plans were underway to secure the island, and that crews were already removing life guard stands on area beaches, and that emergency vehicles and generators were fueled.
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Image: US Army Corps of Engineers via Flickr Commons
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