SHELTER IS NO. 1 CONCERN
Number of refugees, dead on the rise
Texas rivers continue to rise — bloated with the unrelenting rain from the weakened, but slow-moving Tropical Storm Harvey — as thousands of displaced Houston-area residents seek shelter in the Lone Star State and beyond.
Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards offered to take in Harvey victims from Texas, as Houston’s largest shelter, the George R. Brown Convention Center, held more than 9,000 people — almost twice the number officials originally planned to house there, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said.
“We are not turning anyone away,” he said. “But it does mean we need to expand our capabilities and our capacity.”
Edwards said he expects Texas officials to decide within 48 hours whether to accept his offer, which comes as Louisiana deals with its own flooding. Reports of fatalities ranged from a dozen to as many as 30, while more than 13,000 people have been rescued in the Houston area.
Last night, authorities reported that an 83-year-old woman died after her vehicle was caught in floodwaters in Walker County, north of Houston.
Officials with the Texas Department of Public safety said a state trooper out checking the road conditions came across Ola Mae Crooks’ vehicle.
In all, more than 17,000 people have sought refuge in Texas shelters and that number seemed certain to increase, the American Red Cross said.
Turner said the city has asked the Federal Emergency Management Agency for more supplies for an additional 10,000 people, which he hopes to get no later than today.
Hours after announcing the death of a Houston police officer who died driving to work, Turner announced a midnight to 5 a.m. citywide curfew.
As city officials continued to try to find food and shelters, a levee along the Brazos River, south of the city, breached yesterday due to heavy rains. The breach caused officials to immediately call for residents to evacuate.
“Get out now,” the alert read.
The levee was later fortified, but officials said they didn’t know how long the work would hold.
Separately, engineers began releasing water from the Addicks and Barker reservoirs Monday to ease the strain on the dams. But the releases were not enough to relieve the pressure after the relentless downpours, Army Corps of Engineers officials said. Both reservoirs are at record highs.
The release of the water means that more homes and streets will flood, and some homes will be inundated for up to a month, said Jeff Lindner of the Harris County Flood Control District.
Water in the Houston Ship Channel, one of the nation’s busiest waterways, which serves the Port of Houston and Houston’s petrochemical complex, is at levels never seen before, Lindner said.
As the grim figures surrounding the dead and displaced continue to rise, the National Weather Service reported that Harvey broke the contiguous-United States rainfall record for a tropical storm with 51.88 inches at Cedar Bayou, Texas, about 30 miles from Houston.