Fears of worst flood in history follow Hurricane Harvey
Emergency services overwhelmed by calls as they brace for death toll to rise across Texas
A MAMMOTH rescue operation was under way across southern Texas last night, as emergency services responded to thousands of calls for help a day after Hurricane Harvey barrelled ashore with 130mph winds and torrential rain.
Two people were confirmed dead, a number expected to rise as emergency workers followed up multiple reports of missing or stranded people. In some areas, residents were told to seek refuge on their rooftops.
The National Weather Service issued a dire warning as flooding intensified yesterday afternoon.
“This event is unprecedented and all impacts are unknown and beyond anything experienced. Follow orders from officials to ensure safety,” it said.
Meteorologists said it was threatening to be America’s worst flood disaster in history with as much as 50in of rain forecast over a heavily populated area.
Houston, America’s fourth largest city, was one of the worst affected areas with 25in of rain falling by yesterday morning. The mayor said authorities had received 2,000 calls and that the city’s convention centre was open for people flooded out of their homes.
“I don’t need to tell anyone this is a very, very serious and unprecedented storm,” said Sylvester Turner. “We have several hundred structural flooding reports. We expect that number to rise pretty dramatically.”
By last night, water had risen high enough to reach the second floor of many buildings. People used inflatable beach toys, rubber rafts and air mattresses to make their way through streets that had turned into rivers. Greg Abbott, the Texas governor, said boats and helicopters were deployed throughout Houston and east Texas.
“We’re measuring rain not in inches but in feet,” he told Fox News Sunday.
Greg Postel, meteorologist and hurricane specialist for The Weather Channel, said heavy rain would continue through most of the week. “This could easily be one of the worst flooding disasters in US history,” he said.
One of the confirmed fatalities was in Houston where an elderly woman drove her vehicle into high water.
A city police spokesman said they believe the water was too high to pass and her car became inoperable. When she got out of her vehicle, she was swept away by floodwater and drowned.
Art Acevedo, Houston’s Police Chief, appealed for people to stay at home saying: “We have one fatality, and a potential second from the flood waters.”
The strongest hurricane to hit the US in more than a decade barrelled ashore late on Friday night. It arrived as a category four storm – the second highest classification – and uprooted trees, destroyed roofs and flipped cars as it moved inland. In Rockport, where it came ashore, recreational vehicles were flung aside.
“It was terrible,” Joel Valdez, 57, told Reuters. The storm ripped part of the roof off his trailer home at about 4am, and he huddled in his Jeep for safety. “I could feel the whole house move.”
Harvey’s winds had eased by yesterday morning. Its energy ebbed as it meandered inland, away from the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico. But as its first assault ended, its second began.
With the storm almost stationary it dumped torrential rain over a wide area that included Houston, with a population of more than six million people across its greater metropolitan area. It is known to be flood-prone even at the best of times. Its network of bayou streams was overwhelmed as three inches of rain fell per hour, leaving
streets and underpasses under water. The escalating sense of crisis was visible on social media, as hundreds messaged officials in search of help. Ed Gonzales, Harris County Sheriff, made multiple requests for people to “shelter in place” if they could and admitted that emergency services had been overwhelmed by 911 calls.
He provided a non-stop rescue service, directing an ambulance to a woman going into labour, someone suffering a heart attack, and responding to reports of a woman and child trapped in a submerged car.
Meanwhile, the National Weather Service said 12 tornadoes had been reported as the storm cut power to more than 300,000 people and oil and gas production was largely halted, sending fuel prices soaring.
The hurricane poses the first major emergency management test of Donald Trump’s administration.
The president has been monitoring developments from Camp David where he signed a disaster proclamation, freeing federal aid to help emergency efforts. Yesterday, he held a cabinet meeting by teleconference and said Texas was experiencing the sort of storm seen only once in 500 years.
“Many people are now saying that this is the worst storm they have ever seen. Good news is that we have great talent on the ground,” he wrote on Twitter. “I will be going to Texas as soon as [I can] without causing disruption. The focus must be life and safety.”
Even as the authorities cope with the unfolding disaster, longer term recovery efforts have begun.
Brock Long, the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), said it would take years for the area to rebuild.
“FEMA’S going to be there for years,” he said. “This disaster is going to be a landmark event and while we are focused on response right now – we are already pushing forward recovery.”