Texas mayor: Hurricane Harvey's 130mph winds have left 'widespread devastation'

Hurricane Harvey hit his coastal community "right on the nose" and left "widespread devastation", a Texas mayor said.

Sat, 26 Aug, 2017 - 16:31

Hurricane Harvey hit his coastal community "right on the nose" and left "widespread devastation", a Texas mayor said.

Rockport mayor Charles C.J. Wax told The Weather Channel on Saturday that some homes and businesses were heavily damaged or even completely destroyed. Schools were also damaged.

First images of Rockport, Texas in wake of #HurricaneHarvey https://t.co/hekpNR3rwq pic.twitter.com/fl1hCz3FWb
— Fox News (@FoxNews) August 26, 2017

He said the emergency response system for the city of about 10,000 people has been hampered by the loss of mobile phone service and other forms of communication.

Harvey made landfall Friday evening as a category four hurricane but has since been downgraded to a category one.

WATCH: Corpus Christi firefighters respond to a major house fire during #HurricaneHarvey pic.twitter.com/lZTLqZg8Gt
— NBC News (@NBCNews) August 26, 2017

The National Hurricane Centre said the threat in the coming days is sustained rains that could unleash "catastrophic" flooding.

The city of Victoria, about 60 miles north of Rockport, had received more than 16 inches of rain by Saturday morning.

Found this sign in our parking lot... it's from North Beach. That's 3 miles away. #HurricaneHarvey pic.twitter.com/jMltA8wDgM
— Haley Williams (@HaleyRhiannon) August 26, 2017

Harvey came ashore east-northeast of Corpus Christi on Texas' Gulf Coast, with winds in excess of 130 mph.

It was the most powerful hurricane to hit the US in more than a decade.

Galveston island right now. @TexasTribune #MyTexasTake #HurricaneHarvey pic.twitter.com/gA60PmFPQq
— Angela 🧡🕊 (@anjeleena_lee) August 26, 2017

But wind speeds quickly weakened and by early Saturday Harvey was downgraded. It continues to produce gusts of up to 120 mph and sustained winds of 90 mph.

President Donald Trump commended the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency for his handling of the hurricane.