Category 1 Hurricane Nicholas made landfall in Texas Monday night and soon after weakened into a tropical storm.
Previously, the Gulf of Mexico would have strengthened as it passed through the warm waters, bringing heavy rains to the southern United States and northeast 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 70 miles (112 kilometers) per hour
, according to the latest NHC report at 4:00 a.m. EDT.
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.
The storm has caused more than 339,000 customers to go without electricity in the state, according to data from poweroutage.us.
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.
A surfer tries to paddle through the waves as wind and rain from Nicholas hit the levee area in Galveston, Texas, Monday, Sept. 13, 2021. Jon Shapley / Houston Chronicle via AP
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.
