Tropical Storm Harvey has continued to batter Texas, hurling record rainfall at the nation’s fourth-largest city, forcing thousands of people to flee their homes and testing flood control systems to their limits.
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| Interstate highway 45 is submerged. |
Parts of the Houston area saw more than 22in (55cm) of rain in a 24-hour period to Sunday evening; too much for the bayous to handle, too much for roads to remain passable and threatening to overwhelm emergency teams.
Early on Monday army engineers released water from the Addicks and Barker reservoirs south-west of the city. Several thousand homes were likely to flood as a result but the plan was designed to save the city centre and its surrounding districts. Residents near the reservoirs have been told to monitor water levels and evacuate if they are in danger, but to wait until daylight before they do so.
The rising waters forced thousands of people to rooftops or higher ground as rescuers struggled to keep up with the constant calls for help. Helicopters landed near flooded freeways and high-water vehicles ploughed through water-logged intersections while some householders fled in kayaks or canoes or even swam to safety.
Read the story on The Guardian from Tom Dart in Houston - “Tropical storm Harvey: catastrophic floods in Houston as city braces for days of rain.”
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