Heavy rain lashed the Gulf Coast of Texas and Louisiana Tuesday as Tropical Storm Nicolas strengthened right into a hurricane earlier than landfall, threatening widespread flooding, energy outages and storm surges.
The National Hurricane Center stated in a bulletin early Tuesday that it was about 20 miles (30 km) northeast of Nicolas Matagorda, Texas, as of 1 a.m. Central Time, with most sustained winds of 75 mph (120 kph) to the north. – Were heading east. NHC stated it made landfall alongside the Texas coast.
The White House stated US President Joe Biden declared a state of emergency for Louisiana and ordered federal help to complement native response efforts because of the circumstances arising from Nichols.
“This will be a very slow-moving storm in the state of Texas that will last for several days and produce heavy rain,” Texas Governor Greg Abbott stated.
Abbott declared a state of emergency in 17 counties and three cities. Boat and helicopter rescue groups have been deployed or stored on standby, he stated.
Nicholas is the second hurricane to threaten the US Gulf Coast in latest weeks. Hurricane Ida wreaked havoc in August, killing greater than two dozen individuals and devastating communities in Louisiana close to New Orleans.
The roof of a CITGO gasoline station is blown up by Tropical Storm Nicholas in Matagorda, Texas, USA. (Reuters)
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner urged the town’s almost 2.3 million residents to remain off roads and highways, citing flood warnings.
“Take things seriously and prepare,” Turner informed a information convention. “This is primarily a rain event and we don’t know how much rain we will get.”
flights canceled
The Houston Independent School District canceled lessons on Tuesday, whereas dozens of faculties in Texas and Louisiana closed on Monday. Houston closed mild rail and bus providers on Monday night. Hundreds of flights have been canceled or delayed at airports in Corpus Christi and Houston.
Houston, the fourth most populous US metropolis, was devastated in 2017 when Harvey, a Category 4 hurricane, slammed Texas, dropping 40 inches (102 cm) of rain in some components and killing greater than 100 individuals. occurred.
National Weather Service fashions have forecast rain totals of as much as 16 inches from Nichols for the coastal components of Texas, reaching as much as 20 inches in remoted areas. As the storm strikes northeast, as much as 10 inches of rain was anticipated in components of south central Louisiana and southern Mississippi.
A baby performs alongside the shoreline earlier than the strategy of Tropical Storm Nicholas in Galveston, Texas, USA, on September 13, 2021. (Reuters)
The National Weather Service issued hurricane, flood and tropical storm warnings and watches all through the area, calling it a “life-threatening condition”.
“We want to make sure no one escapes this storm,” Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards stated at a information briefing on Monday.
Edwards warned that whereas particles from Ida and different storm surges nonetheless clogged drainage techniques, heavy rains might result in flash floods.
Nichols might additionally shut down electrical energy and hinder restoration efforts as greater than 119,000 properties and companies stay with out electrical energy from Ida, he stated.
Royal Dutch Shell started furloughing workers from a US Gulf of Mexico oil platform on Monday and different companies started making ready for hurricane-force winds.
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With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
