Hurricane Claudette lashed the Texas Gulf Coast with heavy wind and rain yesterday, pounding the beaches with high waves and chasing some people to higher ground inland.
The thick wall of clouds and wind surrounding the storm's eye touched the coast. Between 7.6 and 10.2cm of rain had fallen in the
Houston area, about 160km northeast of Port O'Connor and 72km inland.
At Galveston, at the storm's northern edge, waves crashed over the 5.1m seawall that guards the city from the gulf.
Roofs were blown from some beachfront homes, traffic lights were toppled and palm trees bent in the wind. Electricity flickered.
No injuries had been reported.
The hurricane's eye was expected to make landfall in the area of Port O'Connor, a fishing hub 177km southwest of Houston that is bordered by grazing land and rice fields.
