Hurricane Harvey strengthens to Category 2, mandatory evacuations ordered
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Thousands of people fled Texas early Friday as Hurricane Harvey, a life-threatening Category 2 storm, gained strength and hurtled toward the state.
Homeowners, businesses and government officials were scrambling to prepare for the potentially devastating storm. Forecasters said it could lash the state with significant rain, 125-mph winds and up to 12-foot storm surges and "catastrophic" flooding, according to the National Weather Service.
Counties along the Texas coast ordered thousands of residents to leave, oil workers were fleeing the Gulf of Mexico, and at least one college campus closed. The message from state officials was clear: Get out while you can.
"A lot of people are taking this storm for granted, thinking it may not pose much of a danger to them," Gov. Greg Abbott told NBC affiliate KPRC in Houston. "Please heed warnings and evacuate as soon as possible."
Harvey, driven by warm Gulf of Mexico waters, was expected to make landfall as a Category 3 storm just east of Corpus Christi between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. ET Saturday. Heavy rain and widespread flooding will likely be what makes Harvey historic, said NBC News meteorologist Bill Karins.
"It's hard to imagine just how horrific and destructive this amount of water will be but it goes without saying that anyone who has decided to stay in a low-lying area is risking their lives," said Karins.
Related: Gas Prices Rise as Hurricane Harvey Catches Oil Companies by Surprise
The last Category 2 storm to hit Texas was Hurricane Ike in 2008. The last Category 3 storm to pummel the U.S. was Hurricane Wilma, which struck Florida in 2005.
The National Hurricane Center warned Harvey was "dangerously approaching" the Texas coast early Friday, picking up more power and packing maximum sustained winds of 110 mph — close to the Category 3 threshold (sustained winds of 111 mph to 129 mph), according to the National Hurricane Center.
The agency added that "life-threatening and devastating flooding" was expected and that "Harvey is expected to become a major hurricane before it reaches" the Texas coast.
Corpus Christi was a veritable ghost town on Friday afternoon, with dozens of homes and storefronts boarded up. The city's mayor, Joe McComb, has urged residents to leave town — before it is too late.
"We are going to, in the strongest possible terms, encourage residents in the low-lying areas, as they say, to get out of Dodge," McComb said at a news conference Thursday.
Thousands of Texans appeared to follow that advice on Friday morning — but many others planned on hunkering down this weekend.
Gina McGinnis, 60, who works at the Schlotzsky's sandwich chain, said she was going to "ride out the storm."
"I'm ready. I just gotta go get other people ready," McGinnis told NBC News. "It's just T.C.O.B. — taking care of business.
"I have faith in God. If he decides it's my time to go," she said, "I'm ready. I'm ready to go no matter what."
Aaron Castro, 28, another Schlotzsky's employee, said there were "a lot of people sticking around."
"Some people just can't go out," Castro said. "They don't have no money to go out."
Related: Gas Prices Rise as Hurricane Harvey Catches Oil Companies by Surprise
A national security adviser said President Donald Trump had been briefed on the hurricane's progress and preparations for its landing. Trump tweeted on Friday that he had spoken with Abbott and Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards and was "closely monitoring" the situation.
Abbott on Wednesday declared a state of disaster in 30 counties. Mandatory evacuations were ordered in Texas for the cities of Aransas Pass and Portland and the counties of San Patricio and Brazoria. Authorities in Cameron Parish, Louisiana, meanwhile, ordered mandatory evacuations for areas south of the Intracoastal Water Way effective at 6 a.m. local time.
Abbott ordered the Texas State Operations Center to elevate its readiness level and made state resources available for preparation and rescue and recovery efforts.
