It's the 'End of the Beginning' as Harvey Moves to Louisiana

Storm came ashore near Cameron, Louisiana
By Kate Seamons,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 30, 2017 6:27 AM CDT
Harvey Makes Landfall Again, Marking 'End of the Beginning'
Jannett Martinez holds her cat Gigi as she rides a boat out of her neighborhood which was inundated after water was released from nearby Addicks Reservoir when it reached capacity due to Tropical Storm Harvey on Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2017, in Houston, Texas.   (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Harvey has made landfall again, this time as a tropical storm near the Louisiana-Texas border on the day after the 12th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. ABC News reports the storm came ashore just west of Cameron, La., around 5am ET, with CNN noting that winds of roughly 40mph and a storm surge of 2 to 4 feet are expected. NOAA's public advisory now predicts another 3 to 6 inches of rain in southwestern Louisiana, the eastern Texas border area, and western Kentucky through Friday, with some areas getting as many as 10 inches. But as one National Hurricane Center meteorologist puts it, it's not the end, but the "end of the beginning": Per NOAA, "While the threat of heavy rains has ended in the Houston/Galveston area, catastrophic and life-threatening flooding will continue in and around Houston eastward into southwest Louisiana for the rest of the week." More:

  • The AP describes things as "dire" in Port Arthur, Texas, near the Louisiana border, on Wednesday morning, as rising floodwaters inundated homes. Port Arthur Mayor Derrick Freeman said on his Facebook page that the "city is underwater right now but we are coming!"
  • The AP also suggests some potential relief, at least from the rain, for Houston, with expected rainfall for Wednesday at less than an inch.
  • People reports on one of Harvey's victims: a 41-year-old mother from Beaumont, Texas, who police say "absolutely" saved the life of her 3-year-old daughter; the child was found floating in a canal with her mother after the two became stuck while driving. "The baby also had a backpack that was helping her float on her back and she was holding on to her mom," says an officer.
  • Add this to Harvey's toll: two ExxonMobil refineries, which sustained storm-related damage that facilitated the release of pollutants. The Washington Post has the details on the damage at the Baytown oil refinery, America's second-biggest, and the Beaumont petrochemical refinery.
  • NPR explains that the cleanup bill for Harvey could be as much as $100 billion, and while Congress will likely approve the funding needed, "it probably won't be easy." It explains why, and the waves in which the funding would be issued.
  • The New York Times reports that a 12am to 5am curfew is now in place in Houston, and came partly in response to reports of "small-scale looting."
  • The Times puts the death toll at no less than 30. A longtime Houston cop is among the dead.
(More Hurricane Harvey stories.)

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