Houston shelter filled twice over, but ‘the doors will not close’
As stranded residents streamed in, the shelter at the George R. Brown Convention Center grew more packed by the hour — 9,000 evacuees and counting, nearly double its intended capacity.
Conditions inside the center in the heart of downtown were crowded but organized with the help of hundreds of Red Cross volunteers and city police, many of them working 24-hour shifts.
Still, as hundreds of evacu- ees waited in relentless rain outside the convention center, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner acknowledged that the city would need to move fast to prevent cramped from becoming chaotic.
“The doors of the George R. Brown will not close,” Turner assured Houston residents Tuesday. “However, I certainly understand that if you have too many people in a space too long, it creates additional problems.”
The city would open mega-shelters for displaced residents, possibly by the end of the day, he said.
The scene bore an eerie sim--
seen it,” Trump said.
The storm remained over the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday; it already has dumped more than 50 inches of rain in parts of Houston. A National Weather Service gauge near Highlands, Texas, recorded 51.88 inches of rain — the highest total ever from a tropical storm or hurricane in the contiguous 48 states.
Harvey was expected to drop an additional 6 to 12 inches of rain through Friday over the upper Texas coast and into southwestern Louisiana.
Still, Mayor Sylvester Turner was optimistic at a news conference Tuesday. “My hope is that once we get past the next 24 hours that the situation in the city of Houston will significantly improve,” Turner said.
Emergency responders have conducted more than 3,500 boat and air rescues, and the number was climbing. Outside help was streaming in. Search-and-rescue crews from Florida, California, Utah and other areas were sent to trouble spots. Wal-mart was shipping 2,000 kayaks to the area,
The giant shelter set up at the George R. Brown Convention Center in downtown Houston was packed with more than 9,000 evacuees — nearly double its planned capacity. Thousands more slept in smaller shelters.
“Last night in Texas, 17,000+ people sought refuge in shelters,” the American Red Cross tweeted Tuesday. “We’re providing safety & comfort to rescued families.”
Surrounded by people taking a smoking break outside the con- vention center, Danielle Brown hugged her boyfriend, Lorenzo Harps. They arrived Sunday night after being rescued by boat from a ground-level apartment.
“Everything was already flooded,” said Brown, huddled beneath a relatively dry overhang as rain poured down.
Before moving up, they tried putting electronics, clothes and keepsakes on counters and shelves. The water climbed to
3 feet within hours before rescuers reached them the next day.
Harvey was Brown’s first brush with a tropical storm or hurricane. Her message to the untold numbers of residents experiencing a similar crisis: “Be prepared. Be cautious,” she said. “Grab only what you need. Grab your life.”
The mayor imposed a 10 p.m.
to-5 a.m. curfew for the city after warning residents about people impersonating law enforcement officers.
Police Chief Art Acevedo confirmed the death of a police officer who was trapped in his flooded patrol car late Sunday or early Monday while trying to get to work. Acevedo called Sgt. Steve Perez, a 34-year police veteran, a “sweet, gentle public servant.”
The toll from Harvey was difficult to tabulate, and authorities said it could be days before the full extent of the storm is known.
“We know in these kind of events that, sadly, the death toll goes up,” Acevedo told the Associated Press earlier Tuesday. “I’m really worried about how many bodies we’re going to find.”