Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated, oil refineries are expected to shut down and 700 members of the National Guard are being called up as Hurricane Harvey, the most powerful weather system to hit the US in almost 12 years, barrels towards Texas.
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| Hurricane Harvey approaches the coast of Texas from the Gulf of Mexico as it strengthens to a category 3 storm. |
Several counties along the Gulf coast, including Nueces county, Calhoun county and Brazoria county, have ordered mandatory evacuations in low-lying areas.
The Texas governor, Greg Abbott, has activated about 700 members of the state National Guard and put military helicopters on standby in Austin and San Antonio in preparation for search and rescues and emergency evacuations.
Harvey, which is due to make landfall late on Friday, would be the first hurricane to hit the Texas coast since Hurricane Ike in 2008.
The head of the National Weather Service said the storm posed “a grave risk to the folks in Texas”.
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