Harvey to drive up damage for Texas

Harvey was the strongest storm to hit the US since 2004

As Harvey’s winds die down, trouble for Texas may have just begun with forecasts for unprecedented flooding across the heart of US energy production and in Houston, the nation’s fourth-largest city.

Harvey smashed ashore as a Category 4 hurricane on Friday near Rockport, Texas. Five deaths have been attributed to the storm, which has also halted about one-quarter of oil production in the Gulf of Mexico and 5 per cent of US refining capacity. Its second act could be worse as Harvey stalls and promises to dump more than 3 feet of rain onto Texas for the next few days.