Misery grows in flooded Texas
Governor: May take years to recover
HOUSTON — A week after it slammed into Texas, Harvey retained enough rain-making power Friday to raise the risk of flooding as far north as Indiana. In Houston, officials tried to safeguard parts of their devastated city by intentionally flooding others.
Mayor Sylvester Turner announced plans to release water from two reservoirs that could keep as many as 20,000 homes flooded for up to 15 days.
In Beaumont, 93 miles east of downtown Houston, the city had no drinking water after a water pumping station was overwhelmed by the swollen Neches River. Drivers waited in a line that stretched for more than a mile at a high school football field to get bottled water. Each vehicle received one case. Other residents awaited evacuation
flights.
Residents of the stillflooded western part of Houston were told to evacuate ahead of the planned release from two reservoirs protecting downtown. The move was expected to flood homes that were inundated earlier in the week.
Homes not currently flooded probably will not be affected, officials said.
It could take three months for the Addicks and Barker reservoirs, which are normally dry, to drain. The Harris County Flood Control District said it had to continue releasing water to protect the reservoirs’ structural integrity and in case more heavy rain falls.
Some of the affected houses contain several feet of water, and the water reaches to the rooftops of others, district meteorologist Jeff Lindner said.
Turner pleaded for more high-water vehicles and more search-and-rescue equipment as the nation’s fourth-largest city continued looking for survivors or bodies that might have escaped notice in flood-ravaged neighborhoods.
Authorities say 39 people are confirmed dead from Harvey and 19 are still believed to be missing.
Search teams quickly worked their way down streets, sometimes not even knocking on doors if there were obvious signs that all was well — organized debris piles or full cans of trash on the curb or neighbors confirming that the residents had evacuated.
Authorities considered it an initial search, though they did not say what subsequent searches would entail.
Turner also asked the Federal Emergency Management Agency to provide more workers to process applications from thousands of people seeking government help. Harvey victims expect FEMA to work “with the greatest degree of urgency,” he told CBS’ “This Morning.”
The mayor said he will request a preliminary aid package of $75 million for debris removal alone.
By Friday night, Harvey had dumped more than 9 inches of rain in parts of Arkansas and Tennessee and more than 8 inches in spots in Alabama and Kentucky.
Its remnants were expected to generate another 1 to 3 inches over parts of Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio and West Virginia.
National Weather Service meteorologists expect Harvey to break up and merge with other weather systems over the Ohio Valley late Saturday or Sunday.
More than 1,500 people were staying at shelters in Louisiana, and that number included people from communities in Texas. The state opened a seventh shelter Friday in Shreveport for up to 2,400 people, said Shauna Sanford, a spokeswoman for Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards.
Beaumont, home to almost 120,000 people near the Louisiana state line, was trying to bring in enough bottled water for people who stayed behind.
One Houston-area man returned to his flooded house to discover a 9-foot alligator inside, KTRK-TV reported Friday. It took four men to carry away the reptile, whose mouth was taped shut.
The latest statewide damage surveys showed the extent of destruction.
An estimated 156,000 dwellings in Harris County, or more than 10 percent of all structures in the county database, were damaged by flooding, according to the flood control district for the county, which includes Houston.
Lindner called that a conservative estimate.
Figures from the Texas Department of Public Safety indicated that nearly 87,000 homes had major or minor damage, and at least 6,800 were destroyed.
Gov. Greg Abbott warned Friday on ABC’s “Good Morning America” that it could take years for Texas to “dig out from this catastrophe.”
President Donald Trump tweeted that “Texas is healing fast thanks to all of the great men & women who have been working so hard. But still, so much to do. Will be back tomorrow!”
The president on Friday sent lawmakers a request for $7.9 billion in funding for initial Harvey recovery efforts.
Far out over the Atlantic, Hurricane Irma was following a course that could bring it near the eastern Caribbean Sea by early next week. The Category 2 storm was moving northwest at nearly 13 mph. No coastal watches or warnings were in effect.