Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo issues Declaration of Disaster ahead of Hurricane Laura

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Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo signs a disaster declaration for Harris County. (Office of Judge Lina Hidalgo)

HARRIS COUNTY - Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo issued a Declaration of Disaster due to the threat of Hurricane Laura on Wednesday, Aug. 26. The order will give the area more flexibility to respond and assist from any impact from the hurricane.

As of now, Laura is a Category 3 Hurricane, and is expected to grow in strength.

From the desk of Judge Hidalgo:

Harris County Judge Hidalgo issues Declaration of Disaster.

The declaration will last for a period of at least 7 days, but can be extended depending on the circumstances.

On Tuesday, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo declared a voluntary evacuation for residents in evacuation Zones A and B, which include coastal communities in the county. Those not in one of the evacuation zone zip codes were advised to prepare to shelter in place for several days.

Hurricane Evacuation Zones and Routes (by Zip Code)

Hurricane Laura strengthens to Category 3

All of the Houston area is out of the cone this morning and it appears Port Arthur will be on the “clean” side as well. Laura is expected to be a Cat. 4 storm with winds at 130 mph before weakening a bit before landfall near the Texas/Louisiana border. Rain will become more likely today near Houston and winds will be closer to 15-20 mph later tonight. Elevated tides along the coast could still lead to some coastal flooding and we will watch that closely. Rain will remain in the forecast into the weekend simply due to the extra moisture Laura is bringing across the Gulf.