President Trump Monitoring Hurricane Harvey, Urges Texans To Heed Evacuation Advice

HOUSTON, TX — The White House released a statement Friday regarding Hurricane Harvey, which is a category 3 storm barreling its way to the Texas coastline.

From The White House:

"President Donald J. Trump continues to closely monitor Hurricane Harvey and the preparedness and response efforts of State, local, and Federal officials. Today, the President received a briefing from Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Brock Long, Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Elaine Duke, his Homeland Security and Counterterrorism Advisor Thomas P. Bossert, and his Chief of Staff John F. Kelly. Yesterday, the President spoke with Governors Greg Abbott of Texas and John Bel Edwards of Louisiana and committed to providing assistance as appropriate.

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"This storm will likely be very destructive for several days. The President encourages people in the path of this dangerous storm to heed the advice and orders of their local and State officials. The President's highest priority is the safety of the public and of first responders. Those who ignore evacuation orders could be putting both themselves and first responders in danger. We encourage all Americans in the affected areas to be prepared, including by visiting Ready.gov, which provides preparedness plans and important links to information."

The storm became a category 3 storm, which is a major hurricane, at 2 p.m. Friday. Many counties and towns along the Southeast Texas coast have been ordered to evacuate.

It sits less than 90 miles southeast of Corpus Christi and continues to churn northwest toward the Texas coast. The center of the storm is expected to make landfall late Friday, with winds in excess of 115 miles per hour and torrential rains expected to dump 15 to 25 inches on the middle and upper coast with isolated totals of up to 35 inches. The National Hurricane Center warned of a “devastating and life-threatening” storm surge that would raise water up to 12 feet above normally dry land along the coast and cause damaging flash flooding well inland.

Rain, heavy winds and lightning have begun to hit Galveston Island early Friday and will quickly reach Houston and its suburbs. Forecasts called for 10-15 inches of rain in Houston, which would cause dangerous flooding because of low-lying bayous, but no evacuation orders had been given by the city as of Friday morning.

Galveston County went under a tornado warning until 2:45 p.m.

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Phoyo by Andrew Harnik/AP