UPDATE - US: Life-threatening' Hurricane ready to strike Texas

By Safvan Allahverdi

UPDATES WITH HURRICANE CATEGORY

WASHINGTON (AA) - Hurricane Harvey, now a category 4 'catastrophic' storm, is poised to hit the U.S. late Friday, as it's outer bands have begun hitting Texas with heavy rain.

"Hurricane Harvey is an intense hurricane that's now approaching the Texas coast line," said Luis Uccellini, National Weather Service Director. "The storm surge and inland flooding will be catastrophic and life-threatening."

Tens of thousands of people in Texas already fled from the path of the hurricane, and cleared grocery store shelves. The school district canceled events on Friday as well as classes on Monday.

Uccelini said the storm surge is now predicted to reach a 6 to 12 foot range over a large portion of the Texas coast with high winds and dozens of inches of rain that's expected to batter coastal and inland communities.

Powered by warm Gulf of Mexico waters, Hurricane Harvey, with sustained winds of 130 mph (209.21 kmh) is expected to create "historic conditions" in Texas as well as Southwest Louisiana, even as far away as Mississippi, according to the National Weather Service.

According to meteorologists, categories are based on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, which tells the magnitude of the hurricane’s impact.

A category 4 hurricane, can have winds ranging from 131 to 155 mph (210.82 to 249.44 kmh), can cause catastrophic damages to property, humans, and animals as well as long-term power outages and water shortages.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott expressed concern that not as many people are evacuating compared with previous storms, even though he noted that Hurricane Harvey would be a "very major disaster."

"I strongly urge all Texans heed warnings from local officials," the Governer said in his Twitter account. "And I also urge that you immediately follow evacuation orders for all impacted counties."

Abbott added that he talked to President Donald Trump and a Homeland Security official. The governor called for increased federal aid during both conversations.

Following his statement, President Trump confirmed his conversation with the governors of Texas and Louisiana, said he is ready to assist as needed.In response to a reporter's shouted question, Trump said: "They're gonna be safe. Good luck to everybody," while departing White House for meetings.

In addition, the Department of Defense announced that the Texas Military Department has deployed more than 1,000 personnel to Edna City, Texas ahead of Harvey making landfall.

Harvey would be the first major hurricane to hit Texas since Hurricane Ike with sustained winds of 110 mph (177 kmh) and a 22 ft (6.8 m) storm surge, which caused $22 billion in damage in 2008 and Hurricane Claudette, which caused $180 million in damage in 2003.

President Trump’s Homeland Security Advisor also urged Americans to listen to their state and local governments who are leading emergency response efforts.

“Now is not the time to lose faith in your government institutions,” Tom Bossert said at the White House.

He further rejected criticism from the American Civil Liberties Union that plans to keep immigration checkpoints open during the hurricane would prevent undocumented people from seeking shelter.

“People shouldn’t be fearful of going to a shelter and receiving food and water,” he said. “That’s not a problem.”

Harvey is aiming at the same area as Hurricane Carla, which was the largest Texas hurricane in 1961. Carla sustained winds of 175 mph (281.635) and caused more than $300 million in damage.

During the hurricane 34 people died and nearly 250,000 had to evacuate their homes.