Houston endures more rain

Storm blamed for at least 3 deaths; 6 more feared dead

HOUSTON — Floodwaters reached the rooflines of single-story homes Monday and people could be heard pleading for help from inside as Harvey poured rain on the Houston area for a fourth consecutive day after a chaotic weekend of rising water and rescues.

The nation’s fourth-largest city was still largely paralyzed by one of the largest downpours in U.S. history. And there was no relief in sight from the storm that spun into Texas as a Category 4 hurricane, then parked itself over the Gulf Coast. With nearly 61 centimetres of rain expected on top of the 76 centimetres that has fallen already in some places, authorities worried about whether the worst was yet to come.

Harvey has been blamed for at least three confirmed deaths, including a woman killed Monday in the town of Porter, northeast of Houston, when a large oak tree dislodged by heavy rains toppled onto her trailer home.

A Houston television station reported Monday that six family members were believed to have drowned when their van was swept away by floodwaters. The KHOU report was attributed to three family members the station did not identify. No bodies have been recovered.

Police Chief Art Acevedo told The Associated Press that he had no information about the report but said that he’s “really worried about how many bodies we’re going to find.”

According to the station, four children and their grandparents were feared dead after the van hit high water Sunday when crossing a bridge in the Greens Bayou area.

The driver of the vehicle, the children’s great-uncle, reportedly escaped before the van sank by grabbing a tree limb. He told the children to try to escape through the back door, but they were unable to get out.

The disaster unfolded on an epic scale in one of America’s most sprawling metropolitan centres. The Houston metro area covers about 25,900 square kilometres, an area slightly bigger than New Jersey. It’s crisscrossed by about 2,736 kilometres of channels, creeks and bayous that drain into the Gulf of Mexico, about 80 kilometres to the southeast from downtown.

The flooding was so widespread that the levels of city waterways have either equalled or surpassed those of tropical storm Allison from 2001, and no major highway has been spared some overflow.

The city’s normally bustling business district was virtually deserted Monday, with emergency vehicles making up most of the traffic. Most businesses were closed.

Elsewhere, water gushed from two reservoirs as officials sought to release pressure on a pair of 70year-old dams that protect downtown. Water was at risk of spilling around the sides of the barriers, which have a long history of seepage. The move was supposed to help shield the business district from floodwaters, but it could also flood thousands more homes.

Meanwhile, rescuers continued plucking people from the floodwaters — at least 2,000 so far, according to Acevedo. At least 185 critical rescue requests were still pending on Monday morning, he said.

Rescuers were giving priority to life-and-death situations, leaving many people to fend for themselves.