HOUSTON, TX (WHTC-AM/FM) – Hurricane Warnings are in effect for more than eight-million people as Hurricane Harvey churns 140 miles off the Texas Gulf Coast.
As of Friday morning, seven counties are under mandatory evacuation orders. Holland native and radio personality Nick Alan moved to Houston from Seattle a few years ago with his wife and daughter. Alan is staying in Houston, but his wife and toddler have headed north to Dallas. Alan says residents are being told to have enough water and to even fill their bathtubs with water.
“The best way to describe it just eerie. I’m looking out right now and I’d say it’s partly cloudy and 90 degrees just like any Friday down here this time of year. We know that this massive storm is looming and it’s coming. Some of the neighbors that I’ve talked to are packing up to head north to Dallas while others are having Hurricane parties It’s just eerie. That’s all I can describe it as.”
The 29-year-old former Grand Rapids radio personality is also a full time air traffic controller at Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport and will be working through the hurricane even though most flights will be cancelled or at the very least delayed.
American Red Cross volunteers are leaving west Michigan today to head to Texas to help out with the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. with another 100 volunteers on standby.
The National Hurricane Center says the Category 2 storm is now packing maximum sustained winds of 110 miles per hour as it closes in on the Texas coast. The hurricane is expected to blow onshore around 1 a.m. Saturday.
