Tropical Storm Harvey was set to make landfall again yesterday near the Texas-Louisiana border, adding more precipitation after a record rainfall that has caused catastrophic flooding and paralyzed the city of Houston.
The storm that first came ashore on Friday last week as the most powerful hurricane to hit Texas in more than 50 years has killed at least 17 people, forced tens of thousands of people to leave deluged homes and caused damage estimated at tens of billions of dollars, making it one of the costliest US natural disasters.
There is some relief in sight for Houston, the fourth-most populous US city, with forecasters saying five days of torrential rain might come to an end as the storm that has lingered in the Gulf of Mexico picks up speed and leaves the region later in the day.
Photo: AP
Harvey was expected to produce an additional 15cm to 30cm of rain to the north and east of Houston as it moves into southwestern Louisiana.
It was projected to weaken as it moved inland to the northeast and be over Mississippi by today, the US National Weather Service said.
“We aren’t going to be dealing with it for too much longer. It’s going to pick up the pace and get out of here,” said Donald Jones, a meteorologist with the weather service in Lake Charles, Louisiana.
Nearly one-third of Harris County, home to Houston, was under water, according to the Houston Chronicle newspaper.
Local officials said it might take days for all floodwaters, which have spilled over dams and pushed levees to their limits, to recede.
City officials were preparing to temporarily house about 19,000 people, with thousands more expected to flee.
As of Tuesday morning, nearly 50,000 homes had sustained flood damage, Texas officials said, and the tally was certain to rise.
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner announced curfew from 12am to 5am amid reports of looting, armed robberies and people impersonating police officers.
US President Donald Trump visited Texas on Tuesday to survey damage from the first major natural disaster during his leadership.
Trump said he was pleased with the response, but it was too soon for a victory lap.
“We won’t say congratulations,” he said. “We don’t want to do that... We’ll congratulate each other when it’s all finished.”
Moody’s Analytics estimated the economic cost from Harvey for southeast Texas to be from US$51 billion to US$75 billion.
The unprecedented flooding has left scores of neighborhoods chest-deep in water and badly strained the dams and drainage systems that protect the low-lying Houston metropolitan area, whose economy is about as large as Argentina’s.
Among the confirmed fatalities was Houston Police Sergeant Steve Perez, a 34-year veteran of the force who drowned while attempting to drive to work on Sunday.
In Beaumont, northeast of Houston, a woman clutching her baby daughter was swept away in raging flooding. The baby was saved, but the mother died, Beaumont police said.
Ruben Jordan, a retired high-school football coach, died when he was helping rescue people trapped in high water, the Clear Creek Independent School District said.
In all, 17 people have perished, according to US government officials and local media.
US Coast Guard air units and boats have rescued more than 4,000 people.
Thousands of others have been taken to safety by police, rescue workers and citizen volunteers who brought their boats to help, local officials said.
The US National Hurricane Center on Tuesday afternoon said 131.78cm of rain has fallen in Texas due to Harvey, a record for any storm in the continental US.
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