Hurricane Harvey could be the first major storm to hit Texas in nine years

The last storm, in 2008, left communities under water

Communities in Texas are rushing to prepare for the first potential hurricane landfall in nearly a decade (AP)

Hurricane Harvey may be the first such storm to make landfall in almost 12 years, after the storm was upgraded from a tropical storm.

Harvey is quickly gaining strength, and could hit Texas with a dangerous combination of storm-surge flooding, destructive winds, an prolific winds as soon as Friday.

A hurricane warning has been issued for portions of the Texas coast in an area that includes Corpus Christi. Those warnings mean that the area is within a watch area, and are usually issued within 36 hours of the onset of hurricane-like winds in those regions.

"Life-threatening flooding is expected across much of the Texas coast fromheavy rainfall of 12 to 20 inches, with isolated amounts as high as 30 inches, from Friday through early next week," the National Huricane Center said in an advisory.

The agency also said that storm surge flooding could reach heights of six to 12 feet above ground level at the coast in some areas.

Eric Holthaus, a meteorologist, warned on Twitter that, if Hurricane Harvey makes landfall, it could be "one of the worst hurricane landfalls in US history."

But final preparations may still be difficult for residents in the affected area, since tropical storm-force winds could hit as soon as Friday afternoon.

Texas hasn’t had a hurricane make landfall in nearly nine years, when a Category 2 hurricane named Ike slammed ashore near Galveston. That hurricane left much of that city under water, with 103 killed directly by the storm, and another 92 killed indirectly. The storm caused $37.5 billion in damages.

The current projected areas that may be affected by Harvey include Galveston — which is in a storm surge watch zone — as well as Corpus Christi, and Port O’Connor — both of which are in a warning zone. Corpus Christi, which sits right on the Gulf of Mexico, has a high rate of unemployment compared to other communities in the US.

The City of Houston, one of the largest in the United States, is also in a tropical storm warning zone.

FEMA says that they have positioned 250,000 pre-prepared meals, 77,000 liters of water, and 4,000 tarps in advance of the storm's landfall. Those supplies are being moved from FEMA's distribution centre in Fort Worth, Texas, to an Incident Support Base in Seguin, TExas. FEMA personnel are also on the ground, should they be requested by state or local authorities, accoring to a release form the agency provided to The Independent.

Very heavy rainfall is predicted along most of the Texas gulf shore, including Houston. San Antonio, which sits further inland, can also expect a significant downpour of rain.