Houston’s ‘long haul’ to rebuild to cost £139bn

THE “long haul” of rebuilding in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey has begun, Greg Abbott, the Texas governor said yesterday, as Houston takes stock of the scale of the damage caused by the worst rainfall event to ever hit the continental US.

The confirmed death toll stood at 42 yesterday, with the Houston Chronicle saying the number of people who died or were feared dead was more than 50.

“The rebuilding process, this is where the long haul begins,” Mr Abbott said yesterday. “This is where we come to the part where Congress plays a role.” He estimates that rebuilding the city could cost between $150billion (£115billion) and $180 billion (£139 billion).

However, Sylvester Turner, the mayor of Houston, told visitors not to cancel travel plans to the city, which he said was now 95per cent dry.

“I want to be very clear. Yes, it was a very serious storm, historic, unprecedented, but the city of Houston is open for business.

“And so if you have a conference, convention, concert, any of those things that were planning to come to this city we are still ready to welcome you.”

However, the impact on the city’s residents was immense, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency is operating 200 shelters to house 32,000 people in the state.

Even as floodwaters recede and debris is pulled out of trees, there are concerns over lack of access to clean drinking water and all over the city, children have been playing in standing water as the streets turned to lakes.

A test conducted by scientists at Texas A&M University found floodwater samples contained E.coli levels – a bacteria that can cause diarrhoea and vomiting – were more than 100 times higher than that considered safe for swimming.

While bridges that were once submerged are now safely in use, many people are returning home to find everything destroyed.