Recovery from Harvey ‘will take years’

More people have been forced out of their homes nearly a week after Hurricane Harvey, as heavy rain hit Louisiana and leaders in Houston said the city’s recovery would take years.

The mayor of Houston has pleaded for more highwater vehicles and searchand-rescue equipment as the US’S fourth-largest city continued looking for survivors and bodies. Sylvester Turner also asked the Federal Emergency Management Agency to provide more workers to process applications from thousands of people seeking government help.

In Houston, officials turned their attention to immediate needs and also to the city’s long-term recovery, which they said would take years and billions of dollars.

Authorities raised the death toll from the storm to 39 late on Thursday.