Texas officials say at least 9 dead as Harvey flooding continues

Rain pelted this battered city anew Monday as emergency teams — aided by a growing contingent of citizen-rescuers — plunged into waist-deep water seeking people stranded by devastating, historic flooding in the wake of Hurricane Harvey. 


Officials in Texas said Monday afternoon that at least nine people appear to have died as a result of the storm battering the state. That toll includes six people in Harris County, home to Houston; one person in Rockport, near where Harvey made landfall; and another person in La Marque, near Galveston. 


Authorities expect the toll to rise as rescue efforts continue and more rain, rising rivers and surging floodwaters pummel the Gulf Coast. Forecasters say up to 20 inches of additional rain could fall on parts of Texas and Louisiana by Thursday. 


About 2,000 people had been brought to safety with more still in need of help. Yet even with several deaths attributed to the storm, the full toll of Harvey’s destruction remained unclear in Houston and across Texas and Louisiana, with officials warning that the flooding would linger and saying more than 30,000 people would be forced from their homes. 


“We are not out of the woods yet,” Elaine Duke, the acting Homeland Security secretary, said during a Monday morning briefing in Washington. “Harvey is still a dangerous and historic storm.” 


[‘Water is swallowing us up’: In Houston, desperate flood victims turn to social media for survival] 


The latest confirmed fatality Monday came at around noon in Porter, a town immediately north of Houston in Montgomery County. Police said a woman in her 60s was napping in her bedroom when a large oak tree landed on top of her mobile home. By the time rescue workers waded through the waist-deep water to rescue the woman, she was dead. 


“This is the most significant flooding that we’ve ever seen,” said Montgomery County Sheriff’s Captain Bryan Carlisle, who added that deputies had performed at least 60 rescue missions on Monday. “It’s helped that the rain has slowed down somewhat. We’re going to be dealing with flooding for the foreseeable future.” 


Fears also grew beyond Texas, where the floodwater pounding this city and others was measured in feet, not inches. President Trump on Monday declared “emergency conditions” in Louisiana, where forecasts have called for as much as two feet of rainfall in some areas. 


During a news conference Monday, Trump said he expects Congress to take “very rapid action” to help the storm-ravaged areas. Trump, who is visiting Texas on Tuesday, also told reporters he may return to Texas on Saturday and, depending on the storm’s movements, could also visit Louisiana the same day. 


“I look very much forward to it,” Trump said of his planned Tuesday trip to Texas. “Things are being handled really well. The spirit is incredible, of the people.” 


Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) had asked Trump for an emergency disaster declaration, similar to one signed for Texas last week, saying that Harvey posed a “serious danger to life and property” in the state, which is just a year removed from a massive flood disaster. A flash flood watch was issued Monday morning for part of Louisiana as well as part of Mississippi. 


The immediate focus for many remained Houston, the country’s fourth-largest city and a sprawling metropolitan area, which faced dire circumstances and National Weather Service forecasts warning of more heavy rainfall. --- Washington Post

Source: NNA