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Weather Service: 'Catastrophic, Unprecedented' Flooding in Texas

by VOA News

   Police in Houston warned residents to go to their roofs, not their
   attics, if their homes begin flooding, as tropical storm Harvey caused
   unprecedented rains in southeastern Texas Sunday.

   The National Weather Service in Houston called the flooding in the
   region "catastrophic, unprecedented, and life threatening" Sunday and
   warned that it could continue into next week.

   At least two people died over the weekend as flooding and tornadoes
   presented continuing danger for the residents of southeastern Texas.

   The National Weather Service has confirmed that at least seven
   tornadoes have touched down in the Houston area since Friday evening.

   "It's impossible not to feel overwhelmed," VOA's Celia Mendoza said
   Sunday from Houston.

   Celia Mendoza's Video Report From Houston

   "Everything is closed," she said. "People are concerned about what is
   happening to them -- to their neighbors, they're concerned about their
   homes," she said, noting that many people were stuck where they work
   and trying to keep in touch with their families at home.

   Casualties

   In addition to the two fatalities, Harvey injured at least 14 people.
   In the area between Corpus Christi and Houston, many people feared that
   toll was only the beginning. Texas officials say they expect to find
   further victims, however, as the storm moves inland

   "This is a situation that Houstonions have dealt with before, but this
   is one of the worst if not the worst that Houston has suffered," Texas
   governor Greg Abbott said on ABC's "This Week" Sunday, adding that
   rescuing as many people as possible is "our top goal".

   Speaking on CNN Sunday, FEMA administrator Brock Long said that the
   federal emergency services is "going to be there for years", calling
   this disaster a "landmark event".

   President Donald Trump took to Twitter Sunday to say that "great
   coordination" between multiple agencies has enabled thousands of
   victims to be rescued.

   Trump also tweeted that he plans to visit the destruction in Texas "as
   soon as that trip can be made without causing disruption."

   Torrential rains

   Harvey, the fiercest hurricane to hit the U.S. in more than a decade,
   with winds of 209 kph at the time of landfall, has already dumped more
   than 50 centimeters of rain in some places and is predicted to move
   through a 600-kilometer-wide swath of the Texas coast.

   The storm made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane in southeast Texas,
   near the small town of Rockport not far from the city of Corpus
   Christi, slamming the state's Gulf Coast with strong winds and heavy
   rain over hundreds of kilometers of coastline. Since then it has
   gradually weakened.

   Tens of thousands of Texas residents have fled inland to avoid wind and
   flooding from the threatening storm.

   Governor Abbott said more than 1,000 state personnel have been assigned
   to search-and-rescue operations and they've already made several
   rescues, hoisting people into helicopters to avoid floodwaters.

   The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is readying supplies and
   search and rescue teams at its regional coordination center in Denton,
   Texas to send out as soon as conditions permit.