Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards declared a state of emergency and Gulf of Mexico oil and gas rigs are being evacuated in anticipation of Hurricane Harvey’s landfall in Texas in the coming days.
The biggest threat the storm poses to the Baton Rouge area is heavy rainfall, officials say. The latest numbers from the National Hurricane Center show the hurricane has maximum sustained winds of 85 miles per hour and is headed for the coast of Texas.
Edwards in a press conference warned residents that the storm, which was upgraded to a Category 1 hurricane today, threatens heavy rainfall on areas already saturated with water. There is also the possibility that the hurricane could make landfall in Texas, re-enter the Gulf and hit Louisiana.
The storm is set to make landfall Saturday near Corpus Christi, Edwards said, and Louisiana could see the worst of the storm early next week.
Mayor Sharon Weston Broome’s office says rain bands from the storm could start impacting the Baton Rouge area as early as Friday evening.
Nearly 40 oil and gas platforms in the Gulf—roughly 5% of the total number of manned platforms—have been evacuated so far, according to the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement.
The storm, Bloomberg adds, is likely to have a significant impact on crude oil imports into Texas. ExxonMobil is cutting output at its Hoover production platform in the Gulf ahead of the storm.
