Hurricane Harvey: Texas battered by high winds and rain

Hurricane Harvey has slammed into Texas with initial
winds of up to 130mph (215km/h) battering coastal
areas.
The biggest storm to hit the US mainland in 13 years is
moving slowly, with 16.43in (42cm) of rain reported in
one area.
Catastrophic flooding is expected, though Harvey's
winds were downgraded from category four to category
one.
Some residents are feared trapped in collapsed
buildings and tens of thousands of homes are without
power.
After freeing up federal aid for the worst-affected
areas, President Donald Trump praised emergency
services in a tweet, saying: "You are doing a great job -
the world is watching! Be safe."
Live updates from Texas
With Texas Governor Greg Abbott warning of record
flooding in multiple regions, Harvey made a double
landfall: north-east of the city of Corpus Christi initially,
then just north of Rockport a few hours later.
Emergency services in Rockport say a school, a hotel, a
housing complex for the elderly and other buildings
suffered structural damage.
In pictures: Harvey batters Texas
This storm is terrifying
By BBC's James Cook, Corpus Christi
As we approached this coastal city across a series of
causeways and bridges, darkness was falling and the
flooding was already beginning, with frothing waves
eating at the road.
At one point our car was blown sideways across
several lanes by the force of the wind, and every few
minutes a bolt of lightning would illuminate the sky
with an eerie green flash.
By the time the eye of the storm was making landfall
just 30 miles up the coast we were hunkered down
inside a hotel, listening to the noise of screeching wind
punctuated by the occasional crash.
I watched from a doorway at the side of the hotel as
the wall of a large metal building under construction
came smashing to the ground.
Thick palm trees have also been brought down and by
the glow of street lamps and the flashes of lightning,
you can see that the air is thick with driving spray.
This storm is powerful, it is dangerous and it is
terrifying.
When Harvey struck close to Corpus Christi, around
22:00 local time on Friday (03:00 GMT Saturday), it had
winds of up to 130mph.
Travis Pettis, a reporter with the Caller Times
newspaper, told the BBC that strong winds when the
storm arrived made the rain feel like "needles".
"It was pretty crazy out there. The winds, I don't know
what [speed] they topped at but you could barely even
walk," he said.
Trees came down in the city and power supplies were
cut, but thousands of residents had heeded warnings
and boarded up their homes before fleeing.
When the storm struck again near Rockport, wind
speeds had fallen slightly to 125mph.
"Right now we're still hunkered down and can't go
anywhere," Steve Sims, Rockport's volunteer fire chief,
was quoted as saying by Reuters news agency.
"We've heard rumours of 1,000 different things, we
can't confirm anything because we haven't seen
anything. We know we've got a lot of problems, but we
don't know what yet."
Rockport Mayor Patrick Rios said people were trapped
in a housing centre for elderly people, where the roof
had collapsed and rescue teams were unable to gain
access, according to CBS.
He had a stark warning for anyone who refused to
leave town: "We're suggesting if people are going to
stay here, mark their arm with a Sharpie pen with their
name and Social Security number."
At 08:00 local time, the National Hurricane Center
(NHC) announced in a bulletin that winds had fallen to
a maximum of 80mph.
Governor Abbot said it was obvious Texas was
confronting a "very major disaster", and more than
1,000 National Guardsmen would help with the disaster
relief operation.
Harvey is the first major storm of the Atlantic
hurricane season. It is forecast to meander across
south-east Texas until Wednesday.
The NHC has stressed the danger of life-threatening
floods as rising water moves inland from the coastline.
Oil-rich Houston, the fourth biggest city in the US,
could face up to 20in of rain over the coming days.
Residents there should "not be complacent" and should
stay at home and "ride out the storm", Francisco
Sanchez, a spokesman for Harris County's emergency
management office, told the BBC.
"The most severe weather is yet to come" in the
Houston area, he said.
Mr Trump is likely to visit Texas early next week, the
White House said.
The storm is the strongest to hit the US since Charley
in August 2004 and the most powerful to hit Texas
since Hurricane Carla in 1961, which killed 34 people,
according to the Houston Chronicle.
Animated guide: Hurricanes
What is storm surge?
Harvey has severely hampered Gulf of Mexico oil
production and air travel.
About 45% of US oil refining takes place on the Gulf of
Mexico coast, and Corpus Christi is an important port
for the industry.
Crude oil production has slowed by about 20% to
prepare for the storm, and fears Harvey could lead to a
shortfall in fuel have helped drive up prices.
As disruption spread:
The British band Coldplay cancelled a Friday night
concert in Houston
At least 20,000 passengers on three cruise ships
were unable to disembark in Galveston, Texas
Driscoll Children's Hospital in Corpus Christi flew at
least 10 babies from its neonatal intensive care
unit to hospitals further inland, due to fear of
power failures
Are you affected by Hurricane Harvey? Let us know
about your experiences. Email coxiblaq1@gmail.com
with your stories.

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