Houston to open more mega-shelters to house flooded victims of Harvey

HOUSTON — Louisiana’s governor offered Tuesday to take in Harvey victims from Texas, while Houston officials planned to open two to three more mega-shelters to accommodate people who continue to arrive at the overflowing George R. Brown Convention Center seeking refuge from Harvey’s record-breaking flooding.

Gov. John Bel Edwards said he expects Texas officials to decide within 48 hours whether to accept the offer, which comes as Louisiana is also helping its own residents who were rescued from Harvey’s floodwaters overnight. About 500 people were evacuated Monday night and early Tuesday from flooded neighbourhoods in southwest Louisiana, and about 200 spent the night in area shelters, Edwards said.

The Houston centre already held more than 9,000 people, almost twice the number officials originally planned to house there, Mayor Sylvester Turner said. The crowds included many from areas beyond Houston.

“We are not turning anyone away. But it does mean we need to expand our capabilities and our capacity,” Turner said. “Relief is coming.”

More than 17,000 people have sought refuge in Texas shelters and that number seemed certain to increase, the American Red Cross said.

Also Tuesday, televangelist Joel Osteen opened his Houston megachurch, a 16,000-seat former arena that was the longtime home of the NBA’s Houston Rockets, as a shelter after social media critics slammed him for not offering to house people in need while Harvey swamps the city.

Osteen announced the effort in a tweet, saying he and wife Victoria Osteen “care deeply about our fellow Houstonians.”