Hurricane Harvey Makes Second Landfall, Hits Louisiana

Tropical storm, Hurricane Harvey, made a second landfall early Wednesday morning, hitting the Louisiana-Texas border, the National Hurricane Center said.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been evacuated in Houston after the life-threatening flooding hit the Texas City last week, with death tolls reportedly rising to 30.

For now, the city’s focus “will continue to be on rescue,” and not on damage assessment — much less recovery — Houston’s mayor, Sylvester Turner, said at a news conference.

Two people were killed when a tree fell onto a truck in Jackson County, Texas, an area that was “particularly hard hit” by the storm, officials said.

Mr. Turner imposed a curfew in Houston from midnight to 5 a.m. until further notice.

Authorities confirmed Tuesday that for the first time since Harvey hit Houston over the weekend, the floodwaters are slowly receding in some areas.

The rainfall is now moving towards southwestern Louisiana and western Kentucky, the NHC was quoted as saying by the CNN.

Louisiana has beefed up its emergency resources, doubling up on high water vehicles, boats and helicopters on duty.
Harvey is expected to bring winds of 30-40 mph and a 2-4 foot storm surge along the Louisiana-Texas border, according to the CNN.

“We are dealing with a state that has already had a lot of rain this summer, so we are very aware and conscious of the potential for flooding,” said Col. Ed Bush, a public affairs officer for the Louisiana National Guard.

Parts of the Houston area set a record for rainfall from a single storm anywhere in the continental United States, with a top reading on Tuesday afternoon, since the storm began, of 51.88 inches. Jeffrey Lindner, a meteorologist for the Harris County Flood Control District, said 25 to 30 percent of Harris County’s 1,800 square miles of land was flooded.

President Trump visited Texas Tuesday, arriving in Corpus Christi before traveling to Austin.