Hurricane Harvey continues rampage in Texas, 20 dead
Tropical storm Harvey continued to batter Texas on Wednesday with rain and floods leaving atleast 20 people dead and submerging homes and turning streets, highways into lakes.
Thousands of emergency rescue rescue teams officials remained in their toes, helping people affected by the deluge.
Weather official said parts of state are expected to receive rainfall again.
The remnants of deadly Hurricane Harvey menaced Texas and Louisiana, while a reservoir west of downtown Houston spilled over due to record-shattering rainfall.
Even as officials struggled to determine the storm’s true impact, its scope appears to be staggering.
Officials said that as much as 30 percent of Harris county’s 1,777 square miles of area was underwater on Tuesday.
Officials in Houston were unable ro to determine the extent of the tragedy caused by the one of the most destructive storms in US history, authorities said it had hit close to home as the first responders are facing seemingly endless flooding.
Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo on Tuesady said that a 60-year-old police officer drowned on Sunday while on duty in the flooded area.
Authorities recovered his body shortly after 8 am on Tuesday, an emotional Acevedo told a news conference.
Police officers in the city have rescued more than 3,500 people so far amid Harvey’s flooding.
The storm’s full impact remains unclear, as Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said officials are “still trying to assess” the number of missing people.
The National Weather Service reported that Houston has already received more than 42 inches of rain due to Harvey.
Some parts of Louisiana have also seen more than a foot of rain, and the flash flood warnings were in effect for much of the Lake Charles region as the rainfall is expected to continue.
New Orleans is under a tornado and flash flood watch until tomorrow.
In Texas, one of the two massive storm water reservoirs to the west of downtown Houston began spilling over, despite the US Army Corps of Engineers efforts to release the water as the level in the reservoirs swelled.
The Army Corps of Engineers said that water was spilling out from around the dam gates of the Addicks Reservoir, and officials also said they expect the Barker Reservoir, to the south of Addicks, to also begin overflowing some time today.
Near the Barker dam, helicopters were attempting to rescue families, while some people spent their morning hopping onto jet skis and into boats to help as well.
The storm is likely to move inland on the northwestern Gulf Coast today.
Forecasters said more than a foot of additional rain is still expected to fall through Friday over parts of the Texas coast, and Louisiana. The National Weather Service warned of potential flooding in southern Mississippi as well as southeastern Louisiana.
President Donald Trump along with First Lady Melania Trump arrived in Corpus Christi last morning as he hailed the people of Texas for their efforts.
The Department of Labor on Tuesday announced that it had approved an initial USD 10 million grant to help with the cleanup efforts in Texas.
Trump on Monday declared “emergency conditions” in Louisiana, and not long before that, federal authorities had warned Harvey could force more than 30,000 people from their homes by the time skies are expected to clear later this week.
Life across Texas is severely affected due to Harvey with hundred of schools shutting down and thousands of people piling into shelters in Houston and other places.
Harvey is the most powerful storm to hit Texas in the past 50 years.
Meanwhile, flights “are limited to humanitarian flights and first responder support for Hurricane recovery,” authorities of the two airports in Houston said.
United Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Spirit Airlines and American Airlines each said that they’ve airlifted supplies into or out of the city since Hurricane Harvey hit on Friday.
With those limited exceptions, Houston’s two airports — George Bush Intercontinental Airport and William P. Hobby Airport remained closed for passenger travel.
The Federal Aviation Administration issued flight restrictions over the greater Houston area.
These restrictions cover 1,200 square nautical miles over the city and are intended to keep airspace clear for search and rescue flights, the FAA said.
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Source:The hindu
