Storm Harvey: Houston battles biggest storm in history

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People view the flooded highways in Houston (27 August 2017)
Photo credits: AFP
A family with children, parents and dog in tow, walks along Interstate 45 while escaping flood waters from Tropical Storm Harvey in Houston
Photo credits: REUTERS
Residents use a truck to navigate through flood waters from Tropical Storm Harvey in Houston (27 August 2017)
Photo credits: REUTERS   Main roads in Houston have been turned into rivers

 

The US city of Houston is in the grip of the biggest storm in the history of the state of Texas, officials say.

More than 30in of rain (75cm) has fallen on parts of the city this weekend, turning main roads into rivers and making it impossible to move around other than by boat.

The city is expected to be deluged by a year's rainfall within this week.

With rescue services overstretched as the rain continues, many people are having to fend for themselves.

Hundreds of roads have been closed across the city, hospitals have been evacuated and thousands of people are without electricity.

Many schools are closed - as are the city's two main airports, with runways completely flooded.

Up to 2,000 people have been rescued in and around Houston, as Tropical Storm Harvey continues to batter Texas with heavy rains. Helicopters are being used to pluck people from rooftops.

There are reports of possible deaths in submerged vehicles, but investigations continue, Chief Darryl Coleman of the Harris County Sheriff's Office said.

The US National Weather Service (NWS) says conditions are "unprecedented". A "flash flood emergency" in in force across the Houston area, with travel near impossible.

Many shelters have been opened, including in a convention centre.

The Houston Chronicle has published a photo of an unidentified man in Houston trying to catch a fish as he wades through floodwaters in his living room.

One woman posted a picture online of two alligators in her backyard, while other photos show people water-skiing near the centre of the city.
Evacuees exit a US Coast Guard helicopter that rescued them after Hurricane Harvey inundated the Texas Gulf coast with rain and flooded their home in Houston (27 August 2017)
Photo credits: REUTERS

Like Houston, the island city of Galveston was also hit by "epic catastrophic flooding" overnight, the NWS added.
An inundated care home in Dickinson, about 30 miles (50 km) south-east of Houston, is reported to have been evacuated by helicopter after an image of several elderly women sitting in a lounge in waist-deep water went viral on social media.

With the emergency services under intense pressure and complaints among some residents that 911 emergency calls are not even being answered, hundreds of volunteers have made their way to Houston from all over the US.

They face difficult conditions because many of those stranded can only be rescued by air or by boat.

The US Coast Guard in Houston has requested more helicopters.

President Donald Trump is due to visit Texas on Tuesday to see for himself the damage caused by the storm. He signed a disaster proclamation on Friday, paving the way for federal cash to go towards the relief effort.

Forecasters have warned that it could worsen and become historic.

Insurance experts quoted by the Reuters news agency say it could equal the damage inflicted by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, widely reported to be the most expensive natural disaster in US history.

It was estimated that Katrina caused about $15bn worth of flood damage in the states of Louisiana and Mississippi.

But experts say at the moment it is too early to make detailed estimates of the damage to homes and businesses in Texas.

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner has urged residents not to call emergency services unless their situation is life-threatening and they need to be rescued.

"Don't get on the road. Don't assume this storm is over," he said.

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