Skal være minst åtte døde etter orkanen Harvey

Orkanen Harvey har tatt minst åtte liv, sier Texas-ordfører. Og nå kommer regnet.

ROCKPORT, TEXAS: Store ødeleggelser i byen Rockport etter orkanen Harvey. Foto: Joe Raedle
ROCKPORT, TEXAS: Store ødeleggelser i byen Rockport etter orkanen Harvey. Foto: Joe Raedle

Orkanen «Harvey» traff land sent fredag kveld amerikansk tid, natt til lørdag norsk tid.

Det er den sterkeste stormen som har rammet USA siden Wilma i 2005, og ødeleggelsene er store flere steder.

Lørdag kveld melder ordføreren i Port Aransas at minst åtte personer er døde som følge av stormens herjinger. Disse opplysningene er ikke bekreftet fra flere kilder.

Han forteller den lokale tv-stasjonen at redningsmannskaper er i gang med leting etter skadde eller omkomne etter orkanen. Han ber innbyggerne vente med å komme tilbake.

De nærmeste dagene er det ventet store nedbørsmengder og flom. I mange byer er alle husstander uten strøm.

Innbyggerne i USAs nest største delstat Texas hadde i forkant blitt bedt om å forberede seg på det verste.

Meldinger om materielle skader kom tidlig inn fra blant annet Rockport, en kystby med omlag 10.000 innbyggere. Nyhetsbyrået AP melder at taket på en seniorbolig har kollapset, og at ti av beboerne fikk legehjelp.

President Donald Trump har på oppfordring fra Texas-guvernør Greg Abbott erklært at orkanen er en stor katastrofe. Dette vil frigi flere ressurser til redningsarbeidet. På Twitter sier Trump at han følger med på utviklingen fra Camp David, og han ber folk holde seg trygge.

– Skriv personnummer på armen

Sju fylker på Texas' kyst har beordret evakuering av titusener av mennesker i lavtliggende områder.

ROCKPORT, TX - AUGUST 26: A Rockport firefighter goes door to door on a search and rescue mission as he looks for people that may need help after Hurricane Harvey passed through on August 26, 2017 in Rockport, Texas. Harvey made landfall shortly after 11 p.m. Friday, just north of Port Aransas as a Category 4 storm and is being reported as the strongest hurricane to hit the United States since Wilma in 2005. Forecasts call for as much as 30 inches of rain to fall in the next few days.   Joe Raedle/Getty Images/AFP
== FOR NEWSPAPERS, INTERNET, TELCOS & TELEVISION USE ONLY == Foto: Joe Raedle
ROCKPORT, TX - AUGUST 26: Rockport firefighters go door to door on a search and rescue mission as they look for people that may need help after Hurricane Harvey passed through on August 26, 2017 in Rockport, Texas. Harvey made landfall shortly after 11 p.m. Friday, just north of Port Aransas as a Category 4 storm and is being reported as the strongest hurricane to hit the United States since Wilma in 2005. Forecasts call for as much as 30 inches of rain to fall in the next few days.   Joe Raedle/Getty Images/AFP
== FOR NEWSPAPERS, INTERNET, TELCOS & TELEVISION USE ONLY == Foto: Joe Raedle
ROCKPORT, TX - AUGUST 26: Lee Guerrero tries to kick open a door of an apartment after hearing his friends say they were hiding in the shower stall and were okay after Hurricane Harvey destroyed the apartment on August 26, 2017 in Rockport, Texas. Harvey made landfall shortly after 11 p.m. Friday, just north of Port Aransas as a Category 4 storm and is being reported as the strongest hurricane to hit the United States since Wilma in 2005. Forecasts call for as much as 30 inches of rain to fall in the next few days.   Joe Raedle/Getty Images/AFP
== FOR NEWSPAPERS, INTERNET, TELCOS & TELEVISION USE ONLY == Foto: Joe Raedle
ROCKPORT, TX - AUGUST 26: Valerie Brown walks through a flooded area after leaving the apartment that she road out Hurricane Harvey in on August 26, 2017 in Rockport, Texas. Harvey made landfall shortly after 11 p.m. Friday, just north of Port Aransas as a Category 4 storm and is being reported as the strongest hurricane to hit the United States since Wilma in 2005. Forecasts call for as much as 30 inches of rain to fall in the next few days.   Joe Raedle/Getty Images/AFP
== FOR NEWSPAPERS, INTERNET, TELCOS & TELEVISION USE ONLY == Foto: Joe Raedle
ROCKPORT, TX - AUGUST 26: A destroyed apartment complex is seen after Hurricane Harvey passed through on August 26, 2017 in Rockport, Texas. Harvey made landfall shortly after 11 p.m. Friday, just north of Port Aransas as a Category 4 storm and is being reported as the strongest hurricane to hit the United States since Wilma in 2005. Forecasts call for as much as 30 inches of rain to fall in the next few days.   Joe Raedle/Getty Images/AFP
== FOR NEWSPAPERS, INTERNET, TELCOS & TELEVISION USE ONLY == Foto: Joe Raedle
Boats are pushed ashore by Hurricane Harvey in Port Lavaca, Texas, August 26, 2017. REUTERS/Rick Wilking Foto: Rick Wilking
ROCKPORT, TX - AUGUST 26: Jacque McKay walks through the apartment complex where she lives and road out the storm after Hurricane Harvey destroyed many of the apartments on August 26, 2017 in Rockport, Texas. Ms. McKay said she was able to rescue her dog but lost pretty much everything else. Harvey made landfall shortly after 11 p.m. Friday, just north of Port Aransas as a Category 4 storm and is being reported as the strongest hurricane to hit the United States since Wilma in 2005. Forecasts call for as much as 30 inches of rain to fall in the next few days.   Joe Raedle/Getty Images/AFP
== FOR NEWSPAPERS, INTERNET, TELCOS & TELEVISION USE ONLY == Foto: Joe Raedle
ROCKPORT, TX - AUGUST 26: A damaged home is seen after Hurricane Harvey passed through on August 26, 2017 in Rockport, Texas. Harvey made landfall shortly after 11 p.m. Friday, just north of Port Aransas as a Category 4 storm and is being reported as the strongest hurricane to hit the United States since Wilma in 2005. Forecasts call for as much as 30 inches of rain to fall in the next few days.   Joe Raedle/Getty Images/AFP
== FOR NEWSPAPERS, INTERNET, TELCOS & TELEVISION USE ONLY == Foto: Joe Raedle
ROCKPORT, TX - AUGUST 26: Donna Raney makes her way out of the wreckage of her home as Daisy Graham tells her she will help her out of the window after Hurricane Harvey destroyed the apartment on August 26, 2017 in Rockport, Texas. Donna was hiding in the shower after the roof blew off and the walls of her home caved in by the winds of Hurricane Harvey. Harvey made landfall shortly after 11 p.m. Friday, just north of Port Aransas as a Category 4 storm and is being reported as the strongest hurricane to hit the United States since Wilma in 2005. Forecasts call for as much as 30 inches of rain to fall by next Wednesday.
== FOR NEWSPAPERS, INTERNET, TELCOS & TELEVISION USE ONLY == Foto: Joe Raedle
ROCKPORT, TX - AUGUST 26: Donna Raney is helped out of the window by Lee Guerrero and Daisy Graham after Hurricane Harvey destroyed her apartment on August 26, 2017 in Rockport, Texas. Donna was hiding in the shower after the roof blew off and the walls of her home caved in by the winds of Hurricane Harvey. Harvey made landfall shortly after 11 p.m. Friday, just north of Port Aransas as a Category 4 storm and is being reported as the strongest hurricane to hit the United States since Wilma in 2005. Forecasts call for as much as 30 inches of rain to fall by next Wednesday.
== FOR NEWSPAPERS, INTERNET, TELCOS & TELEVISION USE ONLY == Foto: Joe Raedle
ROCKPORT, TX - AUGUST 26: Donna Raney is helped out of the window by Lee Guerrero and Daisy Graham after Hurricane Harvey destroyed her apartment on August 26, 2017 in Rockport, Texas. Donna was hiding in the shower after the roof blew off and the walls of her home caved in by the winds of Hurricane Harvey. Harvey made landfall shortly after 11 p.m. Friday, just north of Port Aransas as a Category 4 storm and is being reported as the strongest hurricane to hit the United States since Wilma in 2005. Forecasts call for as much as 30 inches of rain to fall by next Wednesday.
== FOR NEWSPAPERS, INTERNET, TELCOS & TELEVISION USE ONLY == Foto: Joe Raedle
Byen Rockport er hardt rammet etter orkanen Harvey. Det har kommet rapporter om at åtte personer er døde etter uværet.

Fungerende ordfører Rockport, Patrick Rios, sier til en lokal TV-kanal at de som velger å bli værende i området, bør skrive personnummeret sitt på armen med tusj.

En av de kraftigste orkanene noensinne

Orkanen Harvey vil trolig ramme de samme områdene som en av de kraftigste og dødeligste orkanene som noen gang har truffet USA, den som traff Indianola i Texas i 1886 og kostet om lag 150 mennesker livet.

Det nasjonale orkansenteret opplyser at stormen i Indianola er den femte kraftigste orkanen som noen gang har rammet landet. Bare orkanen i Florida Keys i 1935, Camille (1969), Katrina (2009) og Andrew (1992) har vært kraftigere.

(NTB / TV 2)