Texas Gov. Abbott: Harvey Bringing ‘Catastrophic, Life-Threatening Flooding’

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Saturday a disaster declaration has been declared for 50 of the state's 254 counties in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, noting that the foremost concern at this time will be heavy rainfall that will result in "catastrophic, life-threatening" flooding. "I have issued a disaster declaration that originally included 30 counties," Abbott said during a press conference in Austin Saturday afternoon.

Hurricane Harvey Makes Landfall in Texas: Remains a significant…

Late Friday, Hurricane Harvey intensified to a major Category 4 hurricane just before making landfall near Rockport, Texas and remains a dangerous storm. The priorities right now are supporting states with: search and rescue, mass care, disaster medical services, temporary power, and life sustaining commodities " says FEMA Administrator Brock Long.

The Latest: Texas mayor says Harvey devastated his city

The rain was so torrential along Interstate 45 coming out of Galveston as Hurricane Harvey settled over southeast Texas that motorists had to stop under bridges to avoid driving in whiteout conditions. The downpour on Saturday has also caused minor street flooding along a highway in Dickinson, about 25 miles northwest of Galveston.

Trump administration readies for Hurricane Harvey

Homeland security adviser Tom Bossert briefed reporters on the federal government's preparations for Hurricane Harvey, a "serious storm" which, he said, "could remain a dangerous storm for several days." with winds of 120 miles per hour, is expected to bring flooding, flash flooding and other high-wind damage, Bossert said, although he added that this was expected "to be a rain event more so than a wind event."

Texas prepares as Harvey strengthens to Category 2 storm

Conditions were deteriorating along Texas's Gulf Coast on Friday as Hurricane Harvey strengthened and slowly moved toward the state, with forecasters warning that evacuations and preparations "should be rushed to completion." Millions of people were bracing for a prolonged battering from the hurricane, which could be the fiercest such storm to hit the U.S. in nearly a dozen years.

D.C. news briefs

Egypt's president and foreign minister met with White House adviser Jared Kushner hours after the Trump administration cut or delayed hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to Cairo over human rights concerns. Kushner, who is also President Donald Trump's son-in-law, was in Cairo as part of a Middle East tour aimed at exploring ways to revive Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

County, city officials return from hurricane institute with new ideas to tackle next disaster

Dozens of Horry County and city officials are back or on their way back to the county from FEMA's Emergency Management Institute in Maryland. While there, they received an intense crash course on how to deal with several emergency scenarios, and improve response and preparedness in Horry County.

As prairies turn to ash, cowboys mull help

Travis Brown, 33, of Sand Springs Mont., stands next to a fence at a cattle corral while waiting for local cowboys to divert some of his cattle into a trailer.Tim Craig/The Washington Post Travis Brown, 33, of Sand Springs Mont., stands next to a fence at a cattle corral while waiting for local cowboys to divert some of his cattle into a trailer.Tim Craig/The Washington Post SAND SPRINGS, Mont. - In this part of Montana's rugged eastern prairie, Erwin Weder and the other ranchers and cowboys are not used to feeling kicked around.

Port Arthur Floodwall Requires Repa…

Officials with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Texas' Jefferson County Drainage District 7 are working to repair a damaged floodwall that could leave the city of Port Arthur vulnerable to damage should a hurricane or tropical storm hit. A portion of the concrete floodwall, on Taylor Bayou, was found during routine maintenance earlier this month to be breaking apart .

Government spent $660M rebuilding NJ homes that keep getting flooded

A new study finds over the past 40 years, hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent rebuilding homes in the Garden State that keep getting flooded. According to Rob Moore, a senior policy analyst with the Natural Resources Defense Council, New Jersey has one of the highest totals of severe repetitive loss properties of any state in the nation.