Abbott advises Houstonians to evacuate; local officials disagree

AUSTIN — Amid a long day preparing for Hurricane Harvey, Houston's elected leaders spent Friday afternoon countering an unexpected message from Gov. Greg Abbott.

"Even if an evacuation order has not been issued by your local official, if you are in areas between Corpus Christi and Houston ... you need to strongly consider evacuating," Abbott said mid-day Friday in a basement bunker at the state emergency operations center in Austin.

"If I were living in the Houston region, as I once did, I would decide to head to areas north of there," he added. "Think of your life first."

"A lot of people are going to go a long time without basic necessities," he said, warning of catastrophic and record-breaking floods. "If you have the ability to evacuate and go someplace else for a little while, that would be good."

Abbott's off-the-cuff advice came despite local leaders' repeated messages that residents will be more safe hunkering down at home.

READ ALSO: As Hurricane Harvey arrives, here are areas likely to flood

Coast Guard Air Station Houston responds to search and rescue requests after Hurricane Harvey in Houston, Texas, Aug. 27, 2017. The Coast Guard is working closely with all local and state emergency operation centers and has established incident command posts to manage Coast Guard storm operations.

U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Johanna Strickland. less Coast Guard Air Station Houston responds to search and rescue requests after Hurricane Harvey in Houston, Texas, Aug. 27, 2017. The Coast Guard is working closely with all local and state emergency operation ... more Photo: U.S. Coast Guard Photo By Petty Officer 3rd Class Johanna Strickland. Photo: U.S. Coast Guard Photo By Petty Officer 3rd Class Johanna Strickland. Image 1 of / 234 Caption Close Abbott advises Houstonians to evacuate; local officials disagree 1 / 234 Back to Gallery

Francisco Sanchez, spokesman for the Harris County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, tweeted soon after the governor's comments, "Local officials know best. Houston has no evacuation order. In Harris County: very limited to select communities. LOCAL LEADERS KNOW BEST."

Ed Emmett, the Harris County judge, said Friday afternoon that the area will likely miss the dangerous winds and storm surge. Instead, this will be an extreme rain event with severe flooding. But that's only life-threatening if residents venture into high water outside.

"The safest thing is to stay where you are and ride out the storm," Emmett said.

"We don't anticipate any kind of massive evacuation," he added, saying that residents should not drive if they're not told to evacuate because it would clog roadways for those who do need to leave their homes, including a few towns along Galveston Bay.

READ ALSO: 20,000 stuck at sea in cruise ships as Galveston hunkers down

Mayor Sylvester Turner also cautioned against evacuations.

"There are a number of people who are in Hurricane Harvey's direct path, and evacuation orders have been given to them," Turner said. But for the Houston area, "This is a rainmaker for us. There's no need for people to be thinking about putting themselves in greater danger."

In 2005, many Houstonians fled Hurricane Rita. The immense evacuation led to gasoline shortages, massive traffic jams and gridlocked highways. At least 120 people died, including 23 who were killed in a bus crash near Dallas.

At a late afternoon news conference at the county's emergency operations center, Emmett said he spoke to the governor twice Friday.

"The other thing he said was, listen to your local officials," Emmett said, trying to walk back the governor's statements. "Perhaps it was a bit of a mixed message."

But the county judge was unambiguous: "There's no reason to get on the road. ... There's absolutely no reason to evacuate from Houston."

Ted Cruz, Texas' junior U.S. senator and a 2016 candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, stopped by the Harris County emergency center Friday evening and weighed in.

"Listen to your local officials," Cruz said at a news conference. "Here in the Houston area, the projections are that we'll face significant rain. We're not under an evacuation order."

Andrea Zelinski reported from Austin, Andrew Kragie from Houston.