Residents of Montgomery County advised to 'shelter in place' during Hurricane Harvey

THE WOODLANDS, Texas -- Hurricane Harvey has become a Major Category 4 hurricane with just an hour or two before the eyewall begins to make landfal near the Corpus Christi/Rockport area.

For updates on Harvey's intensity and effects on the Woodlands Area, click here for a blog updated as NHC warnings come in

Once on land it is projected to stall and drift slowly northeast along the Texas coast over the weekend through Tuesday.

Montgomery County will start seeing rainfall beginning today and winds could increase as the day progresses. Rainfall predictions between Friday and Wednesday are between 15 and 25 inches for our area and to the south. Over the weekend through Tuesday we can expect localized flooding and road closures.

During the onset of a hurricane Montgomery County will not call for mandatory evacuations, instead residents will be asked to shelter in place. Although we will still be in considerable danger due to wind and rain, our distance from the coast takes us out of the immediate danger of any storm surge.

Having Montgomery County residents shelter in place allows evacuees from those coastal areas to pass through and avoids road congestion. Additionally, evacuees are asked to not stop in Montgomery County due to the fact that we will still be greatly affected by the storm and we do not have the infrastructure and resources in place to support evacuees. Instead they are asked to proceed to shelter cites, such as Huntsville, Dallas, and San Antonio.

For help and information on preparing for disasters, download our new preparedness app ReadyMCTX to your mobile device. Now is the time to make sure preparations are in order and check your emergency kits.

To receive emergency alerts to your phone or email from Montgomery County Office of Emergency Management, register at https://www.smart911.com/. When you are creating your profile, you must check the box next to Share my Smart911 Profile with TX- Montgomery-County-911 to support emergency preparedness.

Stay informed and monitor conditions for Montgomery County and the surrounding area on the Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management website www.mctxoem.org, NOAA Weather Radio, KStar 99.7FM or your favorite news source for vital weather related information.