by Rob Crilly and Reuters from The Telegraph, August 28, 2017
The historic flooding that Tropical Storm Harvey unleashed on Houston will likely worsen as federal engineers release water from overflowing reservoirs to keep it from jumping dams and surging uncontrollably into the homes they protect, officials said on Monday.
Some 30,000 residents of the nation's fourth-largest city were expected to be left temporarily homeless by Harvey, which became the most powerful hurricane to strike Texas in more than 50 years when it came ashore on Friday near Corpus Christi, about 220 miles south of Houston.
Stunned families surveyed the wreckage of destroyed homes along the nearby coast and roads that were not flooded were clogged with debris. Death estimates vary, but officials in Texas said at least eight people had died.
Harvey was expected to remain over the state's Gulf Coast for the next few days, dropping a year's worth of rain in about a week, with threats of flooding extending into neighboring Louisiana.
In scenes evoking the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans in 2005, police and Coast Guard teams have rescued at least 2,000 people so far, plucking many from rooftops by helicopter, as they urged the hundreds believed to be marooned in flooded houses to hang towels or sheets outside to alert rescuers.
8:22PM Houston under water
8:15PM Harvey drifts back towards coast
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Tropical Storm #Harvey Advisory 33A: Center of Harvey Drifting Near the Texas Coast. https://t.co/VqHn0uj6EM — NHC Atlantic Ops (@NHC_Atlantic) August 28, 2017 |
The National Hurricane Center says Harvey is drifting "erratically" back toward the Gulf Coast after having moved inland since making landfall late Friday.
An advisory on Monday afternoon from the center says life-threatening flooding continues for Houston and the broader southeastern Texas region.
8:12PM Family escape on air mattress
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Family floating on an air mattress in the middle of Houston floodwaters rescued by boat in the wake of #Harvey . https://t.co/kQNHohZziOpic.twitter.com/Ta4Pq5yRll — ABC News (@ABC) August 28, 2017 |
8:10PM Airports remain closed
Houston's two largest airports will remain closed until passengers can be "safely accommodated," a spokesman for the city's airport system said on Monday.
George Bush Intercontinental Airport and the William P. Hobby Airport were shut down over the weekend due to water on the runways and in surrounding areas from Tropical Storm Harvey.
"We are not putting a deadline on this ... (There is) a whole list of boxes that need to be checked before we open airports again," said Bill Begley, the airport system's spokesman.
8:05PM The I-10 highway today
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Floating down the I-10 highway in a boat with volunteer rescuers near Hamshire, TX #HarveyFloodpic.twitter.com/VMdhmDsxDf — Jennie Matthew (@jenniematthew) August 28, 2017 |
8:03PM Petrol spill
Texas regulators say a 150,000-barrel fuel storage tank spilled an unspecified amount of petrol east of Houston after tilting over due to large volumes of rain from Harvey.
The spill occurred at Kinder Morgan's Pasadena Terminal on Saturday. Ramona Nye with the Texas Railroad Commission says the fuel was captured by a containment dike at the facility and fire-retardant foam was sprayed over it to prevent an ignition. Company representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.
This article was written by Rob Crilly and Reuters from The Telegraph and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@newscred.com.
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