Now even rescue centres are swamped in US f loods
And New Orleans could be next as hurricane leaves 20 dead in Texas
TEXAS took a new battering in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey yesterday as even flood shelters succumbed to the rising water.
And to make matters worse there were fears that the tropical deluge could be heading to Louisiana and New Orleans next.
In Port Arthur, a city east of Houston on the Gulf Coast, residents who had been evacuated to a sports hall for shelter faced further danger when the hall flooded.
Pictures showed their camp beds almost submerged and people crammed on to a section of tiered seats to escape the brown, dirty water. One woman claimed she saw a snake swimming around and the authorities said they weren’t sure where the residents would be placed next.
Houston, the fourth most populous city in America, has been battling the effects of the hurricane since Friday, with up to 40,000 homes ruined, hundreds of people displaced and at least 20 people dead. A veteran weather expert said it was likely to be ‘the worst natural disaster in American history’.
Joel Myers, of forecasting company AccuWeather, said: The economy’s impact, by the time its total destruction is completed, will approach $160 billion (£123 billion), which is similar to the combined effect of Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy.’
Authorities in the flood- hit city have imposed an indefinite curfew from midnight to 5am amid incidents of looting, armed robberies and people impersonating police officers.
Yesterday, after a brief period when Harvey left the city and hovered over the Gulf of Mexico, it made its second landfall in the neighbouring state of Louisiana. It means low-lying New Orleans, devastated by Hurricane Katrina 12 years ago, is bracing itself to receive up to 10in of rain in 36 hours.
Rescue services and volunteers in Texas are still battling to rescue stranded people and provide shelter for the homeless.
On social media, there were dozens of images and messages shared of people who had brought boats to rescue people, and residents helping to save their neighbours’ dogs. Among the dead are veteran Houston police officer Sergeant Steve Perez, who was caught in a flooded underpass while driving to join the rescue efforts on Sunday. A family of six – two greatgrandparents and four children – have also reportedly drowned after trying to flee the city’s floods in a van. Among them was 16-yearold Devy Saldivar, who posted an anxious Facebook message on Sunday saying: ‘No sleep and anxiety, please let this pass sooner.’ Yesterday, a police official said two men who had drowned in separate incidents had brought the number of confirmed Harvey related deaths to 20.
‘Worst natural disaster in American history’