Texas

Texas is a state of superlatives. It leads the nation in total productivity. It is the leading oil producer in
the nation. Texas is a giant in all industries.

During Spanish colonial rule, the area was officially known as the Nuevo Reino de Filipinas: La
Provincia de Texas.

Location
Texas is the second largest state in the United States by both area and population.
Geographically located in the South Central region of the country, Texas shares borders with the
U.S. states of Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New
Mexico to the west, and the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León,
and Tamaulipas to the southwest, while the Gulf of Mexico is to the southeast.

What is Hurricane Harvey?

Hurricane Harvey is the strongest tropical hurricane to strike United States after the disastrous
Category-5 Hurricane Wilma in Florida in 2005. According to the National Hurricane Center, the
hurricane originated from a tropical wave which was passing through Gulf of Mexico on August 17.
On its way to Texas in United States, Harvey had an impact on parts of Barbados, Martinique,
Dominica and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. According to a New York Times article, Harvey landed
in northeast of Corpus Christi, in Texas, at around 9:45 am last week.

It was designated as a Category-4 hurricane and struck Chisti at a wind speed of 130 miles per hour.
The storm then moved towards Copano Bay, as a Category 3 Hurricane. On its way, Harvey affected
some of the most populous areas in Texas. It moved along state’s Gulf Coast, from Corpus Chisti to
Houston, and then went inwards to Austin and San Antonio.

What has been the damaged caused so far?

Along with strong winds, Harvey brought along a heavy downpour with itself. The torrential rains have
continued non-stop, causing massive flooding. Around 13 million people are battling with the
“catastrophic flooding” and torrential rains in the region.

Houston, has been completely inundated due to unceasing rains making hundreds of civilians in the
region getting stranded. Both the major airports along with primary highways, railways line in
Houston were closed down. Over 2,67,000 civilians in Texas were left without power.

The flooding in Houston has also impacted the large-scale US refinery outages on Tuesday. Causing US
gasoline prices increased to $1.7799 per gallon.