WASHINGTON, Sept 13 (AFP): Hurricane Humberto crashed into the Texas coast Thursday, packing winds as strong as 135 kilometers (85 miles) per hour, the US National Hurricane Center said.
The category one storm-the lowest strength on the five-level Saffir-Simpson scale-slammed the southeast coast of Texas just east of High Island, near the neighboring southern state of Louisiana.
"The center of Hurricane Humberto crossed the Texas coast just east of High Island with maximum winds of 85 mph," the Miami- based center said in its latest bulletin at around 0710 GMT.
Just hours earlier, Humberto had grown from a tropical storm to the third hurricane of the 2007 Atlantic storm season as its swirled over the Gulf of Mexico.
The season's two other hurricanes had mushroomed into maximum category five storms before slamming into Mexico and Central American in August and earlier this month.
Texas Governor Rick Perry had activated search and rescue teams before Humberto even grew into a hurricane.
"I urge all Texans to heed the warnings of their local leaders and take all possible precautions to stay out of dangerous situations as this severe weather continues," Perry said in a statement Wednesday.
A hurricane warning was issued from east of High Island to the town of Cameron in the neighboring state of Louisiana.
Prior to landfall, the Hurricane Center said Humberto was moving north-northeast at 13 kilometers per hour (eight miles per hour).
Central America and Mexico were hit by two massive category five hurricanes in the past several weeks, leaving more than 130 people dead in the region.
Hurricane Felix slammed into Nicaragua earlier this month with winds of up to 260 kilometers (160 miles) per hour, killing more than 100 people.
In August, Hurricane Dean left around 30 people dead after it stormed into Mexico's Caribbean coast.
Hurricane Humberto slams Texas coast
FE Team | Published: September 14, 2007 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00
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