The most powerful hurricane to hit the US state of Texas in more than 50 years moved slowly inland on Saturday, dumping torrential rain expected to cause catastrophic flooding after battering the coast with 130 miles per hour winds.
As dawn breaks in the southern United States, a clearer picture will emerge of the damage wrought by Hurricane Harvey. Texas utility companies said nearly a quarter of a million customers were without power.
Harvey is the strongest storm to hit Texas, the center of the US oil and gas industry, since 1961, and residents and emergency respondents were still sheltering early Saturday.
The town of Rockport, 30 miles (48 km) north of the city of Corpus Christ, appeared to be one of the hardest hit. Ahead of the storm’s arrival, the city’s mayor told anyone staying behind to write their names on their arms for identification purposes in case of death or injury.
“Right now we’re still hunkered down and can’t go…