WASHINGTON - Hurricane Humberto blasted across southeastern Texas and into Louisiana Thursday, packing strong winds and triggering fears of flooding, US forecasters said.
Humberto emerged as a tropical storm over the Gulf of Mexico Wednesday and suddenly mushroomed into a hurricane just before slamming ashore on the Texas coast early Thursday, packing winds as strong as 135 kilometers (85 miles) per hour.
By 1200 GMT the center of Hurricane Humberto was located along the Texas-Louisiana border about 35 km (25 miles) west-northwest of Lake Charles, Louisiana with maximum sustained winds of 130 km/hr (near 80 mph), the Miami-based National Hurricane Center said.
The category one hurricane -- the lowest strength on the five-level Saffir-Simpson scale -- was moving toward the northeast near 19 km/hr (12 mph) "bringing the center of Humberto across central Louisiana," the center added.
The storm was expected to weaken during the day as it moves inland, the center added.
Humberto was expected to dump five to 10 inches (12.5 to 25 centimeters) of rain across southern states including Louisiana, Arkansas and Mississippi, the National Hurricane Center said.
Humberto is the third hurricane of the 2007 Atlantic storm season, following two maximum category five storms that slammed Mexico and Central America in August and earlier this month.
Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco, whose state still has fresh memories from the deadly Hurricane Katrina of 2005, had already declared a state of emergency as a precautionary measure on Wednesday.
Blanco warned that the significant rainfall expected in southwest Louisiana could lead to flooding.
In Texas, Governor Rick Perry activated search and rescue teams, including six blackhawk helicopters, 50 military vehicles and 200 soldiers.
"I urge all Texans to heed the warnings of their local leaders and take all possible precautions to stay out of dangerous situations as this severe weather continues," Perry said in a statement Wednesday.
A hurricane warning was issued from east of High Island to the town of Cameron in the neighboring state of Louisiana.
Meanwhile, a new tropical storm could form in the Atlantic as a tropical depression formed Wednesday 1,495 kilometers (930 miles) east of the Less Antilles.
Central America and Mexico were hit by two massive category five hurricanes in the past several weeks, leaving more than 130 people dead in the region.
Hurricane Felix slammed into Nicaragua earlier this month with winds of up to 260 kilometers (160 miles) per hour, killing more than 100 people.
In August, Hurricane Dean left around 30 people dead after it stormed into Mexico's Caribbean coast.
lt/mdl/mac
09/13/2007 12:35 GMT