Floodwaters devastate Houston

UPDATE: Floods in Houston have claimed at least two lives, officials said Monday, and a family of six is feared dead after water swept away their vehicle. Local news station KHOU reported one family member survived, but four children and their grandparents died. Police Chief Art Acevedo said he had no information about the family but he’s “really worried about how many bodies we’re going to find.”

UPDATE (1:16 p.m.): Rescuers have saved about 2,000 people from rising floodwaters in Houston, and at least 185 families are still waiting for help, Houston police chief Art Acevedo said Monday. With rain still falling from Harvey, two Houston-area reservoirs released water in an attempt to keep dams from failing and flooding downtown. The controlled release was expected to cause more floods in residential areas near the Addicks and Barker reservoirs. Gov. Greg Abbott activated the entire Texas National Guard on Monday to assist with flood recovery. About 12,000 total guard members will participate in the effort.

OUR EARLIER REPORT (3:12 a.m.): Rain continues to fall and floodwaters continue to rise as Harvey lingers over Houston, turning many streets into rivers, navigable only by boat. Thousands of people in the nation’s fourth-largest city climbed on rooftops or sought higher ground, while overwhelmed rescuers were forced to give priority to life-and-death situations, leaving many to fend for themselves. Several Houston-area hospitals were evacuated due to the rising waters. Many volunteers have joined emergency crews to pull people from homes or from the rising water, which reached second floors in some areas. An informal group from Louisiana known as the “Cajun Navy,” which was credited with saving thousands of stranded residents of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, has arrived in Houston with their small watercraft to assist in the rescue efforts. The tropical storm, which made landfall Friday night as a Category 4 hurricane, has already dumped more than 25 inches of rain on the region, and forecasters predict some parts of city and its suburbs could get as much as 50 inches before it all ends. “The breadth and intensity of this rainfall is beyond anything experienced before,” the National Weather Service said in a statement. The director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Brock Long, predicted that the aftermath of the storm would require FEMA’s involvement for years. “This disaster’s going to be a landmark event,” Long said. According to federal disaster declarations, the storm so far has affected 6.8 million people in 18 counties and has been blamed for at least two deaths. President Donald Trump, who met Sunday by teleconference with top administration officials concerning federal support for response and recovery efforts, plans to visit Texas on Tuesday.

See “Harvey Relief” for information on organizations assisting victims affected by the storm.