The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has declared “Texas is about to have a very significant disaster as Hurricane Harvey has begun to near landfall.
FEMA administrator, Brock Long has said the storm which is expected to cause severe flooding and major damage including power outages may persist for up to 4 days.
The storm is expected to be the worst Hurricane system to hit Texas since 2005.
The Category 3 Hurricane may deliver up to 40 inches of rain and over a hundred thousand residents near the town of Corpus Christi were ordered to evacuate.
CNN reports a hurricane warning is in effect for about 1.5 million people, with another 16 million under a tropical storm warning, the weather service said.
“Texas is about to have a very significant disaster,” said Brock Long, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Gov. Greg Abbott warned of record-setting flooding and called on people to flee the area before the storm hits.
“My top goal is to be able to make it through this storm in a way in which we lose no lives,” Abbott said. “Put your life first and your property second.”