Destruction spreads as Harvey makes landfall again

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(Americas Today Thursday 31 August 2017)

Destruction spreads as Harvey makes landfall again

Volunteers and rescue officials helping residents to safety after their homes were flooded in Houston

on Tuesday. Photo: The New York Times

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Published: 4:00 AM, August 31, 2017

HOUSTON — Monster storm Harvey made landfall again yesterday in Louisiana, evoking painful memories of Hurricane Katrina’s deadly strike 12 years ago, as time was running out in Texas to find survivors in the raging floodwaters.

The fresh hit comes five days after the monster storm slammed onshore as a Category Four hurricane, pummelling the United States Gulf Coast with torrential rains that turned neighbourhoods into lakes in America’s fourth largest city, Houston.

While Harvey is technically packing less of a wallop as a tropical storm, heavy rains was still drenching parts of south-eastern Texas and neighbouring south-western Louisiana, complicating rescue missions and compounding the misery for millions of Americans.

So far, only a handful of deaths have been formally confirmed, but when combined with suspected deaths, US media reported that the toll could be 30 so far — and still rising — as floodwaters recede in some areas and bodies are found. Hundreds of people are still unaccounted for, though officials stress they may simply have no access to phones or power.

More than 30,000 people found refuge in shelters across Texas, from the giant Houston convention centre to small churches, according to the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema), Brock Long.

“We are in this for the long haul,” acting Homeland Security Secretary Elaine Duke told reporters in a briefing on emergency operations.

“We’ll continue to support the people of Texas as long as necessary.”

Some 9,000 people were at the Houston convention centre and local officials began searching for two additional sites as more headed to the city.

The American Red Cross brought at least 1,000 volunteers to staff the convention centre, and provided cots, blankets and food for 34,000 across the region, officials said.

In Houston, Mayor Sylvester Turner issued a nighttime curfew aimed at aiding search efforts and thwarting potential looting in the flood-ravaged city. Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo said individuals impersonating police officers knocked on doors in at least two parts of the city telling residents to evacuate their homes.

At least a quarter of Harris County, which includes Houston and the immediate surrounding area, is now under water, affecting tens of thousands of homes, local officials have said.

President Donald Trump tweeted last night: “After witnessing first hand the horror & devastation caused by Hurricane Harvey, my heart goes out even more so to the great people of Texas!” He is planning a second trip to Texas this Saturday, and may go to Louisiana as well, the White House said.

So far, parts of Texas have seen more than 50 inches of rain, while in Louisiana, the top total 18 inches so far — was increasing. Forecasters are predicting another five to 10 inches of rain in the region, with the downpour finally expected to stop today.

In Texas, emergency crews were still struggling to reach hundreds of stranded people in a massive round-the-clock rescue operation, as the National Weather Service predicted weather conditions there were to improve at last. But the damage wrought was staggering — Enki Research put its “best estimate” at between US$48 billion (S$65 billion) and US$75 billion.

Ms Sheryl Kunai, a 57-year-old accountant from Rosenberg, southwest of Houston, left her home and was staying at a hotel. She said her home was fine, but she was wary about heading back. “I still don’t want to chance it. I’ll just go ahead and give it one more day,” she told AFP. “I’m more scared about driving in the water than anything else.”

Federal officials estimate up to half a million people in Texas will ultimately require some form of assistance. “Recovery is a slow process,” Mr Long, the Fema chief, said on Tuesday. “We’ve got a long way to go.” AGENCIES