Harvey recovery will take ‘months, if not years’
HOUSTON — Crews went door to door yesterday in parts of western Houston, shutting off power and warning anyone still in homes left soggy by Harvey that more flooding was possible as engineers relieved pressure on overtaxed city reservoirs.
Some people took a break from their cleanup efforts in the sweltering heat to worship on a declared National Day of Prayer, while others worried about looters and scavengers in storm-ravaged neighborhoods.
Houston officials stressed that the recovery was already beginning despite the renewed flood threat, but an official in the town of Liberty, northeast of the city, said some people in outlying areas there had yet to even return to their homes.
“This will last for some people for months, if not years,” said Liberty Fire Chief Brian Hurst.
Authorities also warned that fires from a chemical plant rocked by previous blazes and explosions were still a possibility in the suburb of Crosby and residents of nearby Beaumont remained without potable water.
At least 4,700 Houston dwellings were under new, mandatory evacuation orders, though about 300 people were thought to be refusing to leave. The Army Corps of Engineers said the water release is necessary to relieve the Addicks and Barker reservoirs from several feet of rain from Harvey and to create space in case of more.
Mayor Sylvester Turner said anyone staying in already-waterlogged homes were endangering themselves and first responders. Harvey hit Texas Aug. 25 as a Category 4 hurricane, but brought the worst flooding to Houston and other communities as a tropical storm. It is blamed for at least 44 deaths.
Still, Turner insisted that much of the nation’s fourthlargest city was hoping to get back on track by tomorrow.