The hurricane that slammed into the coast of Texas on Friday night was downgraded to a tropical storm on Saturday afternoon as it continues to move inland, but it left behind a path of destruction in its wake, and days of "catastrophic" rain and flooding loom ahead.
Originally a Category 4 hurricane, Harvey hit land at roughly 10 p.m. on Friday with winds higher than 130 mph, according to Yahoo. Damage reports consisted of "collapsed roofs and walls," as roughly 230,000 homes and businesses do not have any power.
By Saturday, Harvey was downgraded to a tropical storm sustaining winds of 70 mph. It has turned "into a deadly inland event" as days of flooding, tornadoes and intense rain are all expected to add to the already "widespread devastation," CNN reported. At least one person was killed and at least 12 more were injured in a house fire during the storm the city of Rockport.
Tornadoes already touched down near Houston "leveling homes and destroying everything else in their wake," the Huffington Post reported.
"Our biggest concern is between 20 and 30 more inches of rain in areas ranging from Corpus Christi over to Houston," Gov. Greg Abbott said in a press conference on Saturday, according to ABC News. "We want to do everything we possibly can to keep people out of rising water.
The storm "barely moved for hours" but cleanup efforts as well as search-and-rescue missions have begun, ABC reported. The U.S. Coast Guard already rescued 17 people off the coast of south Texas.
CBS elaborated:
Two helicopters aircrews were dispatched to help ships near Port Aransas, Texas, earlier Saturday after receiving distress calls.
They rescued seven people from a tugboat near Aransas Pass, four people from the vessel Signet Enterprise and four others aboard the vessel Sandy Point.
The New York Times reported that it "may take days before the full impact of the storm is known," and there have been gasoline shortages around Houston "where drivers have been waiting in long lines to fill up."
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