Experts: Hurricane Harvey destruction just beginning
Officials are worried about "potentially catastrophic" rainfall that will continue for days, with more than 40 inches and flash flooding possible
Associated Press
ROCKPORT, Texas — Don't be fooled by Hurricane Harvey's quick, eight-hour transition from a Category 4 monster with sustained winds of 130 mph winds to a Category 1 with 90 mph winds. Experts say the storm's destruction is probably just beginning.
Flooding in all areas surrounding #Rockport, Texas. Water still rising in some areas #HurricaneHarvey pic.twitter.com/LpuJ59e5PK
— Mike Theiss (@MikeTheiss) August 26, 2017

The storm surge — the wall of water pushed inland by the storm — will gradually subside Saturday, but officials are worried about "potentially catastrophic" rainfall that will continue for days, with more than 40 inches and flash flooding possible even well inland, said Eric Blake, a hurricane specialist at the National Hurricane Center in Miami.
Hurricanes almost always lose strength quickly after making landfall and moving away from the warm waters that fuel their winds, Blake said.
Live Footage From Hurricane Harvey. #HurricaneHarvey #Harvey #2017 pic.twitter.com/3ngS6yOTpE
— GotMix News (@gotmix) August 26, 2017
Harvey came ashore along the Texas Gulf Coast on Friday night as the most powerful hurricane to hit the U.S. in more than a decade. The center said Harvey's maximum sustained winds had decreased to about 75 mph (120 kph) by late Saturday morning, and it was expected to become a tropical storm by afternoon.
But "the hazards don't go away," Blake said.
Although experts had worried that Harvey might eventually wander back into the Gulf of Mexico, regain strength and hit the coast again, "that's not the most likely scenario at this point," Blake said.
"Our focus is shifting to the extreme and potentially historic levels of flooding that we could see."
The storm is expected to keep slowing and dumping rain through the middle of next week.
Huge thanks to @POTUS @realDonaldTrump & @GregAbbott_TX for keeping Texans safe during #HurricaneHarvey pic.twitter.com/SQMqmWZEDx
— Josh Gremillion (@joshgremillion) August 26, 2017
Rockport, TX damage via @StormVisuals. Feeling for those folks #HurricaneHarvey #khou11 pic.twitter.com/uoOuBEzPl0
— Jason Miles (@JMilesKHOU) August 26, 2017
First light reveals heavy damage in Rockport, TX. #hurricaneharvey. pic.twitter.com/a9vVRn9iJS
— Jeff Gammons (@StormVisuals) August 26, 2017
Debris blocking access to Port Aransas #HurricaneHarvey #Harvey #HarveyStorm #stxwx #CorpusChristi #Texas pic.twitter.com/qxnYsdrRhH
— Gabe Hernandez (@callergabe) August 26, 2017