Houston in crisis
PRESIDENT Donald Trump has visited Texas to survey damage from the first major natural disaster to test his leadership, as record rainfall from tropical storm Harvey lashed Houston and tens of thousands of people fled deluged homes.
The storm turning slowly in the Gulf of Mexico has brought catastrophic flooding to Texas, killing at least 12 people and paralysing Houston, America’s fourth most populous city.
Damage was expected to run well into the tens of billions of dollars, making it one of the costliest US natural disasters.
City officials were preparing to temporarily house some 19,000 people, with thousands more expected to flee the area as the flooding entered its fourth day and authorities found themselves running out of space in cramped shelters.
The mayor of Houston announced an indefinite 12am to 5am curfew amid reports of looting, armed robberies and people impersonating police officers.
Harvey has affected nearly a fifth of US oil refining capacity, triggering worries about lack of petrol and sending gasoline futures to a twoyear high this week.
Although Houston residents saw patchy sunlight for the first time in days late on Tuesday afternoon, forecasters warned that 15 to 30cm of rain was on its way and would continue through to Thursday.
Mr Trump, speaking in Corpus Christi near where Harvey first came ashore last week, said he wanted the relief effort to stand as an example of how to respond to a storm.
“This was of epic proportion. Nobody’s ever seen anything like this,” Mr Trump said as he met state and federal officials for a briefing at a fire station.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott said Mr Trump showed “genuine compassion” on the flight to Austin as they watched video footage.
But Ari Fleischer, former press secretary to President George W. Bush, said Mr Trump’s remarks in Corpus Christi showed a lack of empathy for those who suffer.
“The first thing he should have said was that his heart goes out to those people in Houston who are going through this, and that the Government is here to help them recover,” Mr Fleischer said.
Reuters