Hurricane Harvey, as it’s come to be known, is now officially classed as Tropical Storm Harvey as the situation is worsening. The south-east of Texas is taking a massive beating from the storm, which has been regenerating the force it had originally lost, and now it’s spreading across Louisiana. The storm has claimed the lives of at least nine people, and now thousands are waiting to be rescued as they fight for survival amid the “catastrophic” floods.
Thousands of people have been forced out of their homes as the buildings have been flooded. They’ve had to seek emergency shelter as the terrible rainfall and heavy winds continue to threaten their towns.
According to Texas officials, approximately 30,000 people have been left homeless and in dire need of safe and secure shelter by Hurricane Harvey.
Houston, we have a problem
Houston has taken the worst blow from Hurricane Harvey. The city’s George R. Brown Convention Center has opened its doors to survivors seeking refuge and it’s already in excess of its 5,000 bed capacity. Desperate times call for desperate measures. They’re already looking for a second large venue in which to bring in the thousands of other survivors currently seeking refuge.
Nine people are confirmed to have died at the hands of Hurricane Harvey, but the death count is speculated to be much higher as bodies will have been lost amid the chaos of the storm.
Among those killed were a family of six who were reported to have died after their van was swept away by the floods, and a man who was killed on Monday night whilst attempting to swim through the flooding.
The exact number of people who are stranded in their homes and waiting to be rescued is unknown at this time. It’s probably too high for officials to ever know for sure, but the local police, coast guard, and even the military are working with teams of volunteers to go into the flood-ridden streets with boats in an attempt to rescue the trapped survivors, as many as they can.
Some of the volunteers and emergency services have even resorted to working 24-hour days as the Hurricane Harvey situation has gotten worse.
Governor of Texas resorting to drastic measures
Greg Abbott, the Governor of Texas, has helped efforts to rescue those who are trapped in their homes by the winds and rainfall of Hurricane Harvey by activating the state’s National Guard.
This has trebled the number of people actively working to rescue survivors. Before the Governor’s actions, 4,000 were out there trying to save folks. Now, that number is 12,000.
Meteorologists are not expecting the reign of terror brought on by Hurricane Harvey to end any time soon. They predict the intensity of the storm to continue throughout today, when it will also be expanding to affect the southern region of neighbouring state Louisiana. A federal state of emergency conditions has been officially announced in Louisiana. Experts are predicting up to 20 inches of rain forecast, and in some parts, even as much as 50 inches.
US President Donald Trump and wife Melania will visit Texas today
US President Donald Trump is set to visit Texas today with his wife Melania Trump.
They will be stopping by the cities of Austin and Corpus Christi to take a look at some of the efforts to save people caught up in Hurricane Harvey. They will be avoiding the most heavily hit areas of the state.
Yesterday, Trump spoke out to defend his decision to mention his Presidential pardon of Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who blatantly broke immigration laws, on Friday, as some called it an inappropriate time given that Hurricane Harvey was kicking off that day. Trump said he chose that day to announce the pardon, because “I assumed the ratings would be far higher than they would be normally.” It’s always about the f*cking ratings with this guy.
Flood damage from Hurricane Harvey is expected to rack up costs in the tens of billions of dollars, while some health experts are worried about the effects that the muddy waters in the floods with have in the long run for those caught up in it.
