Texas is preparing this Saturday for the arrival of the first hurricane of the 2020 season in the Atlantic Ocean, Hanna, which could cause significant flooding, the weather services have warned.
Carrying winds of up to 120 km / h, the Category 1 (of 5) hurricane is expected to strengthen further before hitting the Texas coast in the afternoon or early evening, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC). Sea level could rise more than 1.5 m in places and up to 45 cm of rain could fall locally in South Texas, a state already affected by a significant increase in the number of infections to the new coronavirus.
A season probably "above normal"
According to the latest NHC bulletin, which issued a flood warning, Hanna was at 7 a.m. local (2 p.m. Paris) in the Gulf of Mexico, 160 km southeast of the coastal city of Corpus Christi, plaque hub of the Texas oil industry. The meteorological services encouraged the populations on its path to "take all the necessary measures to protect themselves" and to follow any "evacuation orders and other instructions from local authorities".
In the Pacific Ocean, Hurricane Douglas, which reached category 4 on the Saffir-Simpson scale on Friday, is expected to gradually weaken as it approaches the American archipelago of Hawaii.
The US Agency for Ocean and Atmospheric Observation (NOAA) announced in May that the 2020 hurricane season would likely be "above normal" in the Atlantic, with a forecast of three to six Category 3 hurricanes or more.
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