DON’T MESS WITH TEXAS
Rescues and resilience as Harvey strikes again
Texans banded together on Tuesday in the face of devastating damage wrought by record-busting Tropical Storm Harvey, showing countless displays of courage even as the death toll rose.
More than 3,500 people have been rescued so far, with authorities and private citizens alike working around the clock to pluck people from the perilous floodwaters.
“We’re not turning anyone away,” Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said of his city’s shelters.
“But it does mean we need to expand our capabilities and our capacity. Relief is coming.”
More than 20 people have died or are feared dead as a result of the storm. They include six family members who went missing when their van was carried away by floodwaters; an 83-year-old woman whose body was discovered Tuesday after torrents swept away her car; a woman who later died after she was found floating as her young daughter, suffering from hypothermia, clung to her; and a Houston police officer whose body was found Tuesday.
The city’s George R. Brown Convention Center is housing more than 9,000 people, twice the number officials had expected. At least two more megashelters were in the process of being opened for evacuees, Turner said.
Some Texans pitched tents on their rooftops to stay above the rising waters as they waited for help, while others took to their own boats to search for stranded neighbors.
“I’ve flooded before. I know what it’s like,” volunteer rescuer Ray Driver told CNN, adding that he’s “proud to be a Texan.” “This is what we do,” he said. Betty Walter, who spent 14 hours in her attic with nearly two dozen dogs she rescued during the storm, said she was saved by two men patrolling her neighborhood in a boat.
“It was scary,” she recalled. “They saw me in need, and the guy said, ‘We’re going to load all the dogs . . . We’re not going to separate you or the dogs.’ ”
Keshia Thomas convinced a stranger on Facebook to use his truck to help her rescue people.
“I had been riding around in my little red convertible car trying to rescue people, and I messed up my car,” she said.
Larry Koser Jr. floated through his father’s home in a kayak Tuesday as he scrambled to save the family’s heirlooms and precious papers.
In Crosby, Texas, officials warned that the Arkema chemical plant could explode due to storm damage.
“The potential for a chemical reaction leading to a fire and/or explosion within the site confines is real,” the company said on its Web site.
Two 70-year-old reservoirs in Houston have overflowed, despite the Army Corps of Engineers releasing water from them.
A levee in a county south of Houston was also breached, but was fortified later Tuesday, with officials warning they weren’t sure how long it would hold.
“NOTICE: The levee at Columbia Lakes has been breached!! GET OUT NOW!!” Brazoria County, which had a mandatory evacuation in place Sunday, tweeted on Tuesday morning.
Harvey so far has pelted Cedar Bayou, about 34 miles east of Houston, with 51.88 inches of precipitation — setting a US record for rainfall from a single tropical system.
The previous record was set in 1978 by Tropical Storm Amelia, which pummeled Medina, Texas, with 48 inches of rain.
“It’s a big deal,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Marc Chenard. And it’s about to get worse. NWS predicted that some areas along the upper Texas coast and southwestern Louisiana will receive another six to 12 inches of rain when Harvey makes a second landfall sometime on Wednesday.
Turner said the weather “situation remains dynamic,” and he described Houston, the fourthlargest city in the nation, as a “hub” for all the people who have been stranded in the area.
Houston police on Tuesday confirmed that 60-year-old Sgt. Steve Perez drowned while attempting to drive to work early Sunday.
He had insisted on reporting for duty despite his wife’s pleas that he stay home, given the conditions.
“His response was, ‘I’ve got work to do,’ ” tearful Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo said, describing the officer as a “sweet and gentle public servant.”
Perez, a Houston PD veteran of 34 years, left his home at 4 a.m. in heavy rain and spent 2½ hours driving around, looking for a way to get to his station house.
The department’s dive team located Perez’s body at about 8 a.m. Tuesday.
The Texas National Guard’s entire contingent of 12,000 members has been performing searchand-rescue missions.
So far, more than 17,000 people have shown up at Texas shelters, sleeping in cots and on chairs or, when necessary, on floors.
To take some pressure off Houston, Dallas opened a megashelter at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, which can hold up to 5,000 people.
“This is going to be the start of what I believe is going to be a long process,” Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings said Tuesday.
While many Texans have shown intense compassion for others throughout the storm, Harvey has also brought out a few looters.
In response, Mayor Turner imposed a citywide curfew from midnight until 5 a.m. to stop looting and “any property crimes against evacuated homes in city limits.”