Texas Governor Greg Abbott has declared a “state of disaster” for 30 counties as tropical storm Harvey is about to slam into the state.
Abbott also ordered the Texas Division of Emergency Management’s State Operations Center to elevate its readiness level in preparation for the storm’s arrival.
Abbott is urging Texans to take action before it’s too late:
“Texans believe in taking action and always being prepared in the event of an emergency,” said Governor Abbott. “Preemptively declaring a state of disaster will allow Texas to quickly deploy resources for the emergency response effort in anticipation of the storm’s hazardous conditions.”
Meanwhile, officials in Houston are preparing for the potential for heavy rain and street flooding.
The bayous could fill fast when the rain starts to come down. Hydrological technicians are checking elevations at bayous through Harris County to make sure they can take accurate measurements if and when the water comes.
More than 150 remote boxes stationed along the bayous allow real-time data to be transmitted live to emergency operations centers.
The National Hurricane Center said the storm should continue on a track toward the northwest part of the state over the next 48 hours, and is likely to approach the Texas coast by “late Friday.”
Harvey is expected to be a long-duration event — not just a burst of showers and flash flooding.
Texans need to prepare for the worst. As NASA images show, this is about to become very serious:
If you live in Texas, please be careful and stay safe.
This is a breaking news alert. We will add more details as they become available.
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