(CNN) — South Texas residents are filling sandbags, stocking up on water and boarding up windows ahead of Hurricane Harvey, a system that was upgraded from a tropical storm Thursday.
The hurricane is expected to make landfall Friday evening as a Category 1 storm in Corpus Christi, Texas, then stall over the state, the National Hurricane Center reported.
“Harvey is likely to bring multiple hazards, including heavy rainfall, storm surge, and possible hurricane conditions to portions of the Texas coast beginning on Friday,” the weather service said.
Ten to 20 inches of rain could fall through next week from the Gulf Coast toward Houston and into San Antonio, CNN meteorologist Michael Guy said.
A hurricane warning is in effect from north of Port Mansfield to San Luis Pass, with a storm surge watch stretching north to High Island, on Galveston Bay.
Harvey would be the first hurricane to hit Texas since 2008, when Hurricane Ike smashed the coast near Galveston. The storm killed 21 people in Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas, and caused widespread destruction.
As Harvey churns toward Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott declared a state of disaster Wednesday in 30 counties along the Gulf of Mexico. The governor’s action allows agencies to “quickly deploy resources for the emergency response.”
“Texans believe in taking action and always being prepared in the event of an emergency,” Abbott said. “That is why I am taking every precaution prior to … Harvey making landfall.”
Students and staff at the Texas A&M campus at Corpus Christi are under a mandatory evacuation order. The campus will be closed starting Thursday, according to the university’s website.
The-CNN-Wire
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