Beaumont, Port Arthur struggle with flash floods from Harvey.
2 feet of rain leaves many stranded, sets rescues in motion
BEAUMONT — Thousands of southeast Texans climbed on top of their cars and roofs, pleading for help from friends and strangers, after Tropical Storm Harvey unloaded more than 2 feet of rain late Tuesday and Wednesday and left neighborhoods in ruins with nowhere for floodwaters to drain.
The stranded were rescued in boats, helicopters and dump trucks. Others were still waiting for help Wednesday afternoon, as officials and volunteers fielded nonstop calls for help throughout the night and day.
Officials asked residents who needed assistance to hang white sheets from their houses to help rescuers identify them while they searched flooded streets for those who were trapped.
Many of those ferried to safety were dropped at staging points or ill-equipped shelters, where organizers were asking for food, bedding, diapers and any other donations to give evacuees, many of whom fled with pets in hand.
Many shelters were at capacity by Wednesday afternoon and had to turn away tides of people ferried from flooded homes.
At least two shelters were evacuated after they began flooding — Port Arthur’s Bob Bowers Civic Center and Lumberton’s Parkway Life Church — while others were dry inside but accessible only by boat. Jefferson County officials said they considered moving evacuees from three shelters near Hamshire-Fannett where flooded roadways left the shelters as islands.
City and county officials called the situation in Port Arthur “dire” and urged residents to go into survival mode. Port Arthur’s 911 received so many calls that Beaumont and Jefferson County dispatchers answered calls for at least 18 hours. “If you’re still in your home, we’re coming,” Mayor Derrick Freeman said in a Facebook live video Wednesday afternoon, as residents frantically posted addresses in the comments section asking for help.
26 inches in 24 hours
Although Harvey’s rains ebbed late Wednesday afternoon as the tropical storm head northeast for Louisiana, floodwaters are not expected to recede any time soon.
The storm dumped 26 inches of water in 24 hours in Beaumont, and more than 5 feet in five days in some parts of the region, leaving water in streets, houses and buildings with nowhere to go.
Record flooding in Pine Island Bayou, Village Creek and the Neches River, on top of major flooding for the Sabine River, left the region drenched.
The Neches River Saltwater Barrier has been engulfed by flooding, according to Lower Neches Valley Authority executive director Scott Hall.
Hall said the barrier has been open during the entirety of Harvey, allowing all water to flow through.
“The river is so full that the barrier isn’t even showing,” Hall said. “When there’s flooding, the structure is only meant to keep the tide back.”
The Sabine River Authority is releasing water through spillway gates because of rising water levels at Toledo Bend Reservoir, sending more water downstream.
The reservoir’s level was 172.94 feet Wednesday afternoon, prompting the Authority to open 11 gates 2 feet each. In an earlier announcement Wednesday, they warned that flooding along the river, which is already full from the week’s rain, could lead to evacuations.
Record discharge expected
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials announced in a statement it expects to release historic amounts at B.A. Steinhagen/ Town Bluff Lake between Jasper and Woodville.
Officials said the discharge rate had been increased to more than 44,100 cubic feet a second, which likely “exceed those experienced in the 2015 floods.”
“Local emergency management officials have been notified and preparations for evacuation of affected downstream areas are underway,” the statement continued.
Even after the rain slowed Wednesday, most roadways in southeast Texas remained impassable, blocking would-rescuers and resources from arriving.
Jefferson County Judge Jeff Branick said ambulance buses that were supposed to arrive were rerouted to Austin because of closed roads.
Rescuers loaded at least 60 elderly patients from flooded nursing homes into boats, one or two at a time, and carried them to the Port Arthur Little Theater before sending them to area hospitals.
Other residents were brought for medical attention in the backseats of military trucks and dump trucks, which Mary Poole at Baptist Hospitals of Southeast Texas said were the only vehicles high enough to travel through some areas.
Port Arthur Coast Guard Commander John Lovejoy said 10 to 20 helicopters were deployed by multiple agencies for the rescue efforts.
“Basically, we’re working with air directors and first responders to identify people in need and get them assistance as quickly as possible,” he said.
While helping rescue those who can’t evacuate, helicopters also are delivering food and other supplies to shelters. Lovejoy said aircraft have landed at Jack Brooks Regional Airport to make deliveries, but also are willing to land in parking lots and shopping centers to reach those in need.
“The call volume is very significant, so we’re trying to work through those and keep up,” he said. Monique Batson, Matt Faye, Morgan Gstalter, Danny Shapiro, Mike Tobias and Tim Collins contributed to this report.