Here are things to know for Tuesday, September 14:
1. Nicholas downgraded to Tropical Storm
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Nicholas has continued weaken and is now down to 60mph sustained winds with gusts still recorded of 84mph as of the 7am advisory. The storm made landfall several hours ago and has decreased in forward movement now as well, down to NNE movement of 8mph.
A look at the forecast track shows that Houston will be dealing with the effects of Nicholas through the day today as the storm makes a slow progression across the region and into Louisiana by Wednesday morning as a tropical depression. Flooding is still a concern for areas to the east of I-45 and along the coastal counties. Wind is also a factor as the storm is gradually losing steam as it leaves its power source, the Gulf of Mexico.
2. Gov. Greg Abbott issues disaster declaration for 17 counties as Nicholas moves in to southeast Texas
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott held a news conference to discuss the state’s preparation ahead of Hurricane Nicholas’ landfall along the Texas coast.
The governor issued a state disaster declaration in response to Hurricane Nicholas for 17 counties. The counties included in the state disaster declaration are Aransas, Brazoria, Calhoun, Chambers, Galveston, Harris, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson, Matagorda, Montgomery, Newton, Nueces, Orange, Refugio, San Patricio, and Victoria. The state will add additional counties as needs are identified.
3. More than 452,000 CenterPoint customers face power outages across Houston area due to Tropical Storm Nicholas
Hundreds of thousands of customers are without power as Hurricane Nicholas rolls through the Houston area.
CenterPoint Energy reports 452,408 customers have lost service as of 8 a.m. with the number rising throughout the early morning hours.
CenterPoint released a statement Tuesday morning that read, in part: “The storm intensified overnight with strong sustained winds that exceeded more than 75 miles per hour and gusts over 90 miles per hour, resulting in widespread outages throughout CenterPoint Energy’s service area. The most significant impact has been on the company’s southern, central and eastern service areas. CenterPoint Energy’s crews have begun their damage assessment and service restoration process. The restoration process begins with facilities vital to safety, health and welfare, such as hospitals, water treatment plants and public service facilities. After key facilities, the company follows its priority restoration process by making repairs to electrical facilities that will return power to the largest number of customers first, then continue the restoration process by prioritizing repairs to benefit the greatest number of customers, until power is returned to everyone.”
4. Harris County Flood Control District Operations Team in ‘flood watch’ mode ahead of Tropical Storm Nicholas
At a home near the banks of Brays Bayou, Randy Foster has seen history repeat itself time and time again.
“I’m sure when it really starts raining tonight, I’ll be looking at the flood gauge,” Foster told KPRC from the garage of his home that is currently under construction.
Foster’s Meyerland home flooded three times. First during the Memorial Day floods in 2015, then the Tax Day floods in 2016, followed by Harvey in 2017. Three floods in three years.
“I’ve been out of the house since May of 2015, so that’s over six years now,” he said.
Like many homeowners in Meyerland, Farber is raising his home 11 feet so if the bayous do flood, his home will not.
5. VIDEOS, PHOTOS: This is the damage the Houston area is seeing as day breaks on Nicholas
The Houston area is waking to widespread power outages and damage as Tuesday begins with a lashing from Nicholas.
Here are some of the videos and photos Houston-area people have shared of the issues they’re seeing as the day breaks across the region:
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