The death toll from Hurricane Harvey continues inching up. The storm flooded 136-thousand structures in Harris County alone, according to county officials. The property analytics firm CoreLogic estimates that 70-percent of flood damage from Harvey is not covered by any insurance. Property losses, both insured and uninsured, are estimated to total between 25-and-37-billion dollars. FEMA says 325-thousand people have sought federal assistance.
First responders, as well as urban search and rescue teams, launched a block-by-block, door-to-door search of badly flooded areas of Houston Thursday to conduct recovery operations now that the weather has cleared and the rain has finally stopped.
Harris County Judge Ed Emmett told ABC News on Wednesday that thousands of people likely remain stranded and an estimated 30,000 to 40,000 homes have been destroyed in the Houston area as a result of Harvey’s torrential rains, flooding, and strong winds. At least 31 people have died as a result of the storm’s wrath, officials said.
Preliminary data shows Harvey has broken the rainfall record for a single storm event in the lower 48 states, according to the National Weather Service. The storm dropped a preliminary tally of 51.88 inches of rain in Cedar Bayou, Texas, some 30 miles east of Houston.
The Mexican Red Cross sent a convoy of English-speaking volunteers to Houston on Wednesday, hours after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced the state will accept the Mexican government’s offer of aid and relief supplies, including vehicles, boats, and food.
Meanwhile, evacuees at overcrowded shelters were transported to a newly opened emergency shelter at the NRG Center in Houston, which can house 10,000 people. According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, there are three “mega shelters” in Houston and one in Dallas currently housing evacuees and flood victims.
The federal government still has more than 12,400 personnel stationed across Texas and Louisiana in response to the storm and subsequent flooding. FEMA Administrator Brock Long told reporters Thursday morning that the agency’s primary mission is still “taking care of people” and restoring “hope.”
Some 10,000 people have been rescued in affected areas by federal forces, along with countless volunteer and neighbor-to-neighbor rescues, Long said.
Approximately 325,000 people have registered for FEMA assistance and $57 million has been distributed so far, according to Long. He reiterated that the agency will first try to move displaced residents from shelters into local hotels before helping them muck out their flooded homes so they can return to them. FEMA has already placed more than 1,800 flood survivors in hotels, Long said.
The U.S. Northern Command has deployed about 6,300 active-duty military personnel to the affected areas who have rescued or assisted more than 1,200 people so far.
Piles of waterlogged belongings and furnishings litter neighborhoods as people begin to salvage what’s left of their homes. For residents able to return to their homes, Houston’s fire chief warns that unwanted strangers, “wildlife, snakes, rodents,” may have taken up residence.
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner says only two neighborhoods still have serious flooding, and he asserts “The city of Houston is open for business.” Water levels are still rising in other parts of southeast Texas, including Beaumont, where a lack of drinking water has forced the evacuation of shelters to San Antonio. The Army Corps of Engineers is sending pumps to Beaumont.
Vice President Mike Pence visited Texas, spoke with residents and told ABC’s Jonathan Karl “We’re gonna be here until southeast Texas is rebuilt.” President Trump plans to return to the Houston area and possibly Louisiana on Saturday. The White House says the president also pledges to put up 1-million dollars toward recovery efforts.
