Nicholas becomes a Category 1 hurricane before making landfall in Texas

Nicholas gained strength and became a Category 1 hurricane as its pounding was already felt on the coasts of central Texas this Monday night, after having strengthened as it passed through the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, bringing heavy rains. south of the United States and northeast of Mexico.

The National Hurricane Service (NHC) issued tropical storm alerts for the entire Texas coast, warning of potential floodwaters and storm surges of up to 5 feet (1.5 meters) in some areas.

Cheri Daigle, a retired teacher, takes a photo as Tropical Storm Nicholas approaches the Texas coast, Monday, Sept. 13, 2021, in Galveston, Texas.

AP

Nicholas's winds reached 75 miles (110 kilometers) per hour

, according to the latest NHC report at 11:00 p.m. ET.

While forecasts indicated that between 6 and 12 inches of rain would fall and up to 18 inches in isolated areas, which could lead to dangerous floods like those that affected Louisiana and the East Coast after the passage of Ida two weeks ago.

About 9 million people in Texas and Louisiana are at risk of flooding from Nicholas.

The city of Houston

, which is in a high-risk area,

could be severely flooded for the seventh year in a row

, highlighting the challenges that the climate emergency presents to large cities.

In 2017, Hurricane Harvey left about 150,000 homes underwater in this metropolitan area.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott said the state has placed rescue teams and resources in the Houston area and along the Texas Gulf Coast.

"This is a storm that could leave heavy rain, as well as wind and likely flooding, in various regions along the Gulf Coast. We 

urge you to listen for local weather alerts 

and heed local warnings," he said Abbot in a message posted on his Twitter account.

Power companies were still working to restore power in some areas affected by Ida, when they had to start preparations to deal with Nicholas.

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The storm is expected to move eastward and pass over Louisiana between Tuesday and Wednesday, bringing up to 14 inches of rain to an area that had already been flooded by heavy rainfall from Ida.

Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards declared a state of emergency Sunday night in the face of the storm.

In Mexico, the authorities issued an alert for the coasts of Tamaulipas and also forecast heavy rains for the states of Veravruz and Tabasco.

So far this year

there have been five hurricanes in the Atlantic basin

, Elsa, Grace, Henri, Ida and Larry, of which Grace, Ida and Larry reached the highest category, 3 or more.

With information from The Associated Press and Efe.