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Tuesday 29 August 2017

Exodus (Like prairie, but it's water)

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A pelican injured during Hurricane Harvey limps across a bridge Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017, in Port Lavaca, Texas. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

A pelican injured during Hurricane Harvey limps across a bridge Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017, in Port Lavaca, Texas.: photo by Charlie Riedel/AP, 26 August 2017

A pelican injured during Hurricane Harvey limps across a bridge Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017, in Port Lavaca, Texas. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

A pelican injured during Hurricane Harvey limps across a bridge Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017, in Port Lavaca, Texas.: photo by Charlie Riedel/AP, 26 August 2017


A man is presumed dead after attempting to swim across flood waters Monday night.: image via Houston Chronicle @HoustonChron, 28 August 2017 

This undated photo provided by Virginia Saldivar shows her mother- and father-in-law, Belia and Manuel Saldivar, presumed dead after their van sank into Greens Bayou on Houston's eastside. Virginia Saldivar says she presumes six members of a family, including four of her grandchildren, have died after their van was carried by a strong current into the bayou and sank. (Virginia Saldivar via AP) Photo: Virginia Saldivar, AP / Virginia Saldivar

This undated photo provided by Virginia Saldivar shows her mother- and father-in-law, Belia and Manuel Saldivar, presumed dead after their van sank into Greens Bayou on Houston's eastside. Virginia Saldivar says she presumes six members of a family, including four of her grandchildren, have died after their van was carried by a strong current into the bayou and sank.: photo by Virginia Saldivar via AP, 28 August 2017
 
Family of 6 presumed dead after van sinks in Harvey floods: Emily Schmall, Associated Press, 29 August 2017

DALLAS (AP) — As a van full of family members tried to escape Harvey, violent floodwaters engulfed the vehicle and six people are presumed dead, including four siblings aged 6 to 16, a relative said.

Virginia Saldivar told The Associated Press on Monday that when her in-laws' northeast Houston home began to flood early Sunday, her brother-in-law Samuel Saldivar borrowed her husband's van and drove to pick up the relatives. She said at some point on their way to safety, a strong current lifted the van and pitched it forward into Greens Bayou.

Samuel Saldivar climbed out of the driver-side window but the van's sliding door was partially submerged and would not open, Virginia Saldivar said. He yelled at the children to try to escape out the back, but they were unable. Virginia Saldivar said her brother-in-law could only watch as the van disappeared under water.

"Sam calls my husband and tells him, 'they're gone,'" Saldivar told AP. "That's when my husband dropped the phone and started screaming."

Virginia Saldivar believes her husband's parents, 84-year-old Manuel Saldivar and Belia Saldivar, 81, drowned along with their grandchildren Daisy, Xavier, Dominic and Devy.

Virginia Saldivar said she lives in the same neighborhood as her relatives, but she and her husband left during a calm spell Saturday to watch the Mayweather-McGregor boxing match. The children's mother had left the four at home, she said. The widespread flooding prevented them from getting home until Sunday afternoon.

She said the Coast Guard told her family they couldn't search for the bodies until the water recedes. Saldivar said she has not yet told the children's father, her son, who she says is in prison for violating parole.

A spokesman for Houston's Office for Emergency Management was unable to confirm the presumed deaths, first reported by KHOU-TV.

Harris County Sheriff's Office spokesman Jason Spencer said Samuel Saldivar told them he was driving eastbound Sunday when rising water in Greens Bayou overcame the van, KHOU reported.

According to Spencer, Saldivar said the victims were his elderly parents and four great-nieces and nephews.

Virginia and her husband fled their home Monday evening when water rose to about 8 feet (2.44 meters) outside their front door. Volunteers helped get the couple to dry land.

As soon as it is safe to return to Houston, Saldivar said from a relative's home in Humble, Texas, she and her family will go looking for the bodies themselves.

"Finding my babies," she said, "that's my ultimate goal."

This 2014 photo provided by Virginia Saldivar shows her grandchildren Daisy, from left, Xavier and Dominic Saldivar, three of the four children presumed dead after their van sank into Greens Bayou on Houston's eastside. Virginia Saldivar says she presumes six members of a family, including four of her grandchildren, have died after their van was carried by a strong current into the bayou and sank. (Virginia Saldivar via AP) Photo: AP / Virginia Saldivar

This undated photo provided by Virginia Saldivar shows shows her grandchildren Daisy, from left, Xavier and Dominic Saldivar, three of the four children presumed dead after their van sank into Greens Bayou on Houston's eastside. Virginia Saldivar says she presumes six members of a family, including four of her grandchildren, have died after their van was carried by a strong current into the bayou and sank.: photo by Virginia Saldivar via AP, 28 August 2017


The editorial cartoon from the @HoustonChron #Trump #HoustonStrong @NickAnderson: image via David Beard @dabeard, 28 August 2017


People evacuate a flooded street in #Houston after #HurricaneHarvey Photo @jraedle #HoustonFloods #hurricaneharvey2017: image via Getty Images News @GettyImagesNews, 28 August 2017

Volunteer rescue boats make their way into a flooded subdivision to rescue stranded residents as floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey rise Monday, Aug. 28, 2017, in Spring, Texas. Photo: David J. Phillip, AP / Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Volunteer rescue boats make their way into a flooded subdivision to rescue stranded residents as floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey rise Monday, Aug. 28, 2017, in Spring, Texas.: photo by David J. Phillip / AP, 28 August 2017 

Scientists: Climate change could cause storms like Harvey: Seth Borenstein, AP Science Writer, Associated Press, 29 August 2017

WASHINGTON (AP) — By the time the rain stops, Harvey will have dumped about 1 million gallons of water for every man, woman and child in southeastern Texas — a soggy, record-breaking glimpse of the wet and wild future global warming could bring, scientists say.

While scientists are quick to say climate change didn't cause Harvey and that they haven't determined yet whether the storm was made worse by global warming, they do note that warmer air and water mean wetter and possibly more intense hurricanes in the future.

"This is the kind of thing we are going to get more of," said Princeton University climate scientist Michael Oppenheimer. "This storm should serve as warning."

There's a scientifically accepted method for determining if some wild weather event has the fingerprints of man-made climate change, and it involves intricate calculations. Those could take weeks or months to complete, and then even longer to pass peer review.

In general, though, climate scientists agree that future storms will dump much more rain than the same size storms did in the past.

That's because warmer air holds more water. With every degree Fahrenheit, the atmosphere can hold and then dump an additional 4 percent of water (7 percent for every degree Celsius), several scientists say.


John and Cathy Cservek hold their dogs Lacy and Iggy while being rescued from their home as floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey rise Monday, Aug. 28, 2017, in Spring, Texas. Photo: David J. Phillip, AP / Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

John and Cathy Cservek hold their dogs Lacy and Iggy while being rescued from their home as floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey rise Monday, Aug. 28, 2017, in Spring, Texas.: photo by David J. Phillip / AP, 28 August 2017

Global warming also means warmer seas, and warm water is what fuels hurricanes.

When Harvey moved toward Texas, water in the Gulf of Mexico was nearly 2 degrees (1 degree Celsius) warmer than normal, said Weather Underground meteorology director Jeff Masters. Hurricanes need at least 79 degrees F (26 C) as fuel, and water at least that warm ran more than 300 feet (100 meters) deep in the Gulf, according to University of Miami hurricane researcher Brian McNoldy.

Several studies show that the top 1 percent of the strongest downpours are already happening much more frequently. Also, calculations done Monday by MIT meteorology professor Kerry Emanuel show that the drenching received by Rockport, Texas, used to be maybe a once-in-1,800-years event for that city, but with warmer air holding more water and changes in storm steering currents since 2010, it is now a once-every-300-years event.

There's a lot of debate among climate scientists over what role, if any, global warming may have played in causing Harvey to stall over Texas, which was a huge factor in the catastrophic flooding. If the hurricane had moved on like a normal storm, it wouldn't have dumped as much rain in any one spot.

Harvey stalled because it is sandwiched between two high-pressure fronts that push it in opposite directions, and those fronts are stuck.

Oppenheimer and some others theorize that there's a connection between melting sea ice in the Arctic and changes in the jet stream and the weather patterns that make these "blocking fronts" more common. Others, like Masters, contend it's too early to say.

University of Washington atmospheric scientist Cliff Mass said climate change is simply not powerful enough to create off-the-chart events like Harvey's rainfall.

"You really can't pin global warming on something this extreme. It has to be natural variability," Mass said. "It may juice it up slightly but not create this phenomenal anomaly."

"We're breaking one record after another with this thing," Mass said.

Sometime Tuesday or early Wednesday, parts of the Houston region will have broken the nearly 40-year-old U.S. record for the heaviest rainfall from a tropical system — 48 inches, set by Tropical Storm Amelia in 1978 in Texas, several meteorologists say.

Already 15 trillion gallons of rain have fallen on a large area, and an additional 5 trillion or 6 trillion gallons are forecast by the end of Wednesday, meteorologist Ryan Maue of WeatherBell Analytics calculates. That's enough water to fill all the NFL and Division 1 college football stadiums more than 100 times over.

 A rescue boat enters a flooded subdivision as floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey rise Monday, Aug. 28, 2017, in Spring, Texas. Photo: David J. Phillip, AP / Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

A rescue boat enters a flooded subdivision as floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey rise Monday, Aug. 28, 2017, in Spring, Texas.: photo by David J. Phillip / AP, 28 August 2017
 
Bracing for Harvey's return, worry renews: Is worst to come?: Michael Graczyk and David Phillip, Associated Press, 29 August 2017

HOUSTON (AP) — Crews overwhelmed by thousands of rescue calls during one of the heaviest downpours in U.S. history have had little time to search for other potential victims, but officials acknowledge the grim reality that fatalities linked to Harvey could soar once the devastating floodwaters recede from one of America's most sprawling metropolitan centers.

More than three days after the storm ravaged the Texas coastline as a Category 4 hurricane, authorities had confirmed only three deaths — including a woman killed Monday when heavy rains dislodged a large oak tree onto her trailer home in the small town of Porter. But unconfirmed reports of others missing or presumed dead were growing.

"We know in these kind of events that, sadly, the death toll goes up historically," Houston police Chief Art Acevedo told The Associated Press. "I'm really worried about how many bodies we're going to find."

One Houston woman said Monday that she presumes six members of a family, including four of her grandchildren, died after their van sank into Greens Bayou in East Houston, though Houston emergency officials couldn't confirm the deaths. Virginia Saldivar told The Associated Press her brother-in-law was driving the van Sunday when a strong current took the vehicle over a bridge and into the bayou. The driver was able to get out and urged the children to escape through the back door, Saldivar said, but they could not.

"I'm just hoping we find the bodies," Saldivar said.

 Oscar Galindo, Donato Galindo, 2, Oscar Galindo, 11, Andre Galindo, 9, and Maria Rodriguez relax while taking shelter at the George R Brown Convention Center on Monday, Aug. 28, 2017, in Houston, after living inside a car since Saturday after the rain from the Tropical Storm Harvey flooded their home in Dickinson, Texas. (Marie D. De Jesus/Houston Chronicle via AP) Photo: Marie D. De Jesus, AP / © 2017 Houston Chronicle

Oscar Galindo, Donato Galindo, 2, Oscar Galindo, 11, Andre Galindo, 9, and Maria Rodriguez relax while taking shelter at the George R Brown Convention Center on Monday, Aug. 28, 2017, in Houston, after living inside a car since Saturday after the rain from the Tropical Storm Harvey flooded their home in Dickinson, Texas.: photo by Marie D. De Jesus/Houston Chronicle via AP, 28 August 2017P)

And a spokeswoman for a Houston hotel says one of its employees disappeared while helping about 100 guests and workers evacuate the building amid rising floodwaters.

The disaster is unfolding on an epic scale, with the nation's fourth-largest city mostly paralyzed by the storm that has parked itself over the Gulf Coast. With nearly 2 more feet (61 centimeters) of rain expected on top of the 30-plus inches (76 centimeters) in some places, authorities worried the worst might be yet to come.

The Houston metro area covers about 10,000 square miles (25,900 sq. kilometers), an area slightly bigger than New Jersey. It's crisscrossed by about 1,700 miles (2735.76 kilometers) of channels, creeks and bayous that drain into the Gulf of Mexico, about 50 miles (80.46 kilometers) to the southeast from downtown.

The storm is generating an amount of rain that would normally be seen only once in more than 1,000 years, said Edmond Russo, a deputy district engineer for the Army Corps of Engineers, which was concerned that floodwater would spill around a pair of 70-year-old reservoir dams that protect downtown Houston.

Rescuers meanwhile continued plucking people from inundated neighborhoods. Mayor Sylvester Turner put the number by police at more than 3,000. The Coast Guard said it also had rescued more than 3,000 by boat and air and was taking more than 1,000 calls per hour.

Chris Thorn was among the many volunteers still helping with the mass evacuation that began Sunday. He drove with a buddy from the Dallas area with their flat-bottom hunting boat to pull strangers out of the water.

"I couldn't sit at home and watch it on TV and do nothing since I have a boat and all the tools to help," he said.

Genice Gipson comforts her lifelong friend, Loretta Capistran, outside of Capistran's apartment complex in Refugio, Texas, on Monday, Aug. 28, 2017. "We got to be strong, baby," Gipson told Capistran. (Nick Wagner/Austin American-Statesman via AP) Photo: Nick Wagner, AP / Austin American-Statesman

Genice Gipson comforts her lifelong friend, Loretta Capistran, outside of Capistran's apartment complex in Refugio, Texas, on Monday, Aug. 28, 2017. "We got to be strong, baby," Gipson told Capistran.: photo by Nick Wagner/Austin American-Statesman via AP, 28 August 2017

A mandatory evacuation was ordered for the low-lying Houston suburb of Dickinson, home to 20,000. Police cited the city's fragile infrastructure in the floods, limited working utilities and concern about the weather forecast.

In Houston, questions continued to swirl about why the mayor did not issue a similar evacuation order.

Turner has repeatedly defended the decision and did so again Monday, insisting that a mass evacuation of millions of people by car was a greater risk than enduring the storm.

"Both the county judge and I sat down together and decided that we were not in direct path of the storm, of the hurricane, and the safest thing to do was for people to stay put, make the necessary preparations. I have no doubt that the decision we made was the right decision."

He added, "Can you imagine if millions of people had left the city of Houston and then tried to come back in right now?"

 Theresa Ross receives a tank of oxygen when she arrived to the George R. Brown Convention Center seeking shelter with her husband in Houston on Monday, Aug. 28, 2017. Floodwaters reached the rooflines of single-story homes Monday and people could be heard pleading for help from inside as Harvey poured rain on the Houston area for a fourth consecutive day after a chaotic weekend of rising water and rescues. (Marie D. De Jesus/Houston Chronicle via AP) Photo: Marie D. De Jesus, AP / © 2017 Houston Chronicle

Theresa Ross receives a tank of oxygen when she arrived to the George R. Brown Convention Center seeking shelter with her husband in Houston on Monday, Aug. 28, 2017. Floodwaters reached the rooflines of single-story homes Monday and people could be heard pleading for help from inside as Harvey poured rain on the Houston area for a fourth consecutive day after a chaotic weekend of rising water and rescues.: photo by Marie D. De Jesus/Houston Chronicle via AP, 28 August 2017
 
By Monday night, 7,000 people had arrived at the city's largest shelter set up inside the George R. Brown Convention Center — which originally had an estimated capacity of 5,000.

Red Cross spokesman Lloyd Ziel said that volunteers made more space inside the center, which also was used to house Hurricane Katrina refugees from New Orleans in 2005, in part by pushing some cots closer together. A shortage of cots means some people will have to sleep on chairs or the floor.

The center settled down at night, after an occasionally chaotic day that saw thousands of evacuees arrive in the pouring rain. Officers and volunteers at times rushed to attend to those with medical needs.

At the Addicks and Barker reservoirs, the Army Corps started releasing water Monday because water levels were climbing at a rate of more than 6 inches (15 centimeters) per hour, Corps spokesman Jay Townsend said.

The move was supposed to help shield the business district from floodwaters, but it also risked flooding thousands more homes in nearby subdivisions. Built after devastating floods in 1929 and 1935, the reservoirs were designed to hold water until it can be released downstream at a controlled rate.

In the Cypress Forest Estates neighborhood in northern Harris County, people called for help from inside homes as water from a nearby creek rose to their eaves. A steady procession of rescue boats floated into the area.

Harvey increased slightly in strength Monday as it drifted back over the warm Gulf, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Forecasters expect the system to stay over water with 45 mph (72 kph) winds for 36 hours and then head back inland east of Houston sometime Wednesday. The system will then head north and lose its tropical strength.

Before then, up to 20 more inches (51 centimeters) of rain could fall, National Weather Service Director Louis Uccellini said Monday.

That means the flooding will get worse in the days ahead and the floodwaters will be slow to recede once Harvey finally moves on, the weather service said.

 A rainbow appears over over a Whataburger sign that was destroyed by Hurricane Harvey in Refugio, Texas, Monday, Aug. 28, 2017. (Nick Wagner/Austin American-Statesman via AP) Photo: Nick Wagner, AP / Austin American-Statesman
 
A rainbow appears over over a Whataburger sign that was destroyed by Hurricane Harvey in Refugio, Texas, Monday, Aug. 28, 2017.: photo by Nick Wagner/Austin American-Statesman via AP, 28 August 2017
 
Sometime Tuesday or early Wednesday, parts of the Houston region will probably break the nearly 40-year-old U.S. record for the biggest rainfall from a tropical system — 48 inches — set by Tropical Storm Amelia in 1978 in Texas, meteorologists said.

The amount of water in Houston was so unprecedented that the weather service on Wednesday had to update the color charts on its official rainfall maps to indicate the heavier totals.

In Louisiana, the images of the devastation in Houston stirred painful memories for many Hurricane Katrina survivors.

"It really evoked a lot of emotions and heartbreak for the people who are going through that now in Houston," Ray Gratia said as he picked up sandbags for his New Orleans home, which flooded during the 2005 hurricane.

In Washington, President Donald Trump's administration assured Congress that the $3 billion balance in the Federal Emergency Management Agency's disaster fund was enough to handle immediate needs, such as debris removal and temporary shelter for displaced residents.

The White House said Monday night that the president and first lady will visit Corpus Christi and Austin on Tuesday. They will receive briefings on the relief efforts by local leaders and organizations.

Harvey was the fiercest hurricane to hit the U.S. in 13 years and the strongest to strike Texas since 1961's Hurricane Carla, the most powerful Texas hurricane on record.

 

The flooded streets of Houston: image via Reuters Pictures @reuterspictures, 28 August 2017

A man helps a woman in floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017, in Houston, Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

A man helps a woman in floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017, in Houston, Texas.: photo by David J. Phillip/AP, 27 August 2017

A man helps a woman in floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017, in Houston, Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

A man helps a woman in floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017, in Houston, Texas.: photo by David J. Phillip/AP, 27 August 2017


Residents wade through flood waters in Beaumont Place, Texas, as Harvey unleashes historic floods on Houston: image via Reuters Pictures @reuterspictures, 28 August 2017 

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  Some of the aching symbolism from Texas' historic catastrophe. The ten (trillion) gallon hat. #Harvey @HoustonChron #FortBend: image via Reading The Pictures @ReadingThePix, 28 August 2017

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Exodus. @AFPphoto Houston #Harvey: image via Reading The Pictures @ReadingThePix, 28 August 2017
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More apocalypse. Of highways, now rivers. #Harvey  Photo @olsongetty #Interstate10 #Houston: image via Reading The Pictures @ReadingThePix, 28 August 2017
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Like prairie, but it's water. #Harvey @AFPphoto #Pearland #surreal: image via Reading The Pictures @ReadingThePix, 28 August 2017

Cattle are stranded in a flooded pasture on Highway 71 in La Grange, Texas, after Hurricane Harvey on Monday, Aug. 28, 2017. (Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via AP)

Cattle are stranded in a flooded pasture on Highway 71 in La Grange, Texas, after Hurricane Harvey on Monday, Aug. 28, 2017.: photo by Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via AP, 28 August 2017

Cattle are stranded in a flooded pasture on Highway 71 in La Grange, Texas, after Hurricane Harvey on Monday, Aug. 28, 2017. (Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via AP)

Cattle are stranded in a flooded pasture on Highway 71 in La Grange, Texas, after Hurricane Harvey on Monday, Aug. 28, 2017.: photo by Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via AP, 28 August 2017


Volunteer rescuers help to evacuate people stranded by floodwaters near Bush Airport.: photo by Tamir Kalifa / The New York Times, 28 August 2017 


 Volunteer rescuers help to evacuate people stranded by floodwaters near Bush Airport.: photo by Tamir Kalifa / The New York Times, 28 August 2017


Volunteer rescuers help to evacuate people stranded by floodwaters near Bush Airport.: photo by Tamir Kalifa / The New York Times, 28 August 2017 

Two people walk down a flooded section of Interstate 610 in floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey on Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017, in Houston, Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Two people walk down a flooded section of Interstate 610 in floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey on Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017, in Houston, Texas.: photo by David J. Phillip/AP, 27 August 2017

Two people walk down a flooded section of Interstate 610 in floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey on Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017, in Houston, Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Two people walk down a flooded section of Interstate 610 in floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey on Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017, in Houston, Texas.: photo by David J. Phillip/AP, 27 August 2017 

A child makes his way through floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey while checking on neighbors at his apartment complex in Houston, Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

A child makes his way through floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey while checking on neighbors at his apartment complex in Houston, Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017.: photo by LM Otero/AP, 27 August 2017

A child makes his way through floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey while checking on neighbors at his apartment complex in Houston, Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

A child makes his way through floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey while checking on neighbors at his apartment complex in Houston, Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017.: photo by LM Otero/AP, 27 August 2017

 

Karen Preston is carried to safety after evacuating her flooded neighborhood on the outskirts of Houston.: photo by Tamir Kalifa / The New York Times, 28 August 2017

 

Dayvon Williams, 5, and Zariah Williams, 4, wait to check in at the temporary shelter at the George R. Brown Convention Center in downtown Houston.: photo by Credit Alyssa Schukar / The New York Times, 28 August 2017

 
  
 A member of the U.S. Coast Guard prepares to load a boat that was used for search and rescue operations onto a trailer after flood waters receded in the Houston area of Bellaire.: photo by Tamir Kalifa  / The New York Time, 28 August 2017


The Colorado River crests in La Grange, Texas, covering much of the highway on Monday morning: photo by Ilana Panich-Linsman / The New York Times, 28 August 2017  


Susie Williams, a volunteer from Memphis, speaks with a young girl at a temporary shelter at the George R. Brown Center in Downtown Houston.: photo by Alyssa Schukar / The New York Times, 28 August 2017

 

Susie Williams, a volunteer from Memphis, speaks with a young girl at a temporary shelter at the George R. Brown Center in Downtown Houston.: photo by Alyssa Schukar / The New York Times, 28 August 2017

 

Sherri Thomas, her son Brandon and their dog Jaba sheltered under a tarp while waiting to be bused to a shelter.: photo by Alyssa Schukar / The New York Times, 27 August 2017   


Residents wade through flood waters in Beaumont Place, Texas, as Harvey unleashes historic floods on Houston: image via Reuters Pictures @reuterspictures, 28 August 2017


 Residents wade through flood waters in Beaumont Place, Texas, as Harvey unleashes historic floods on Houston: image via Reuters Pictures @reuterspictures, 28 August 2017


The rivers rise - so do rescue efforts. Harvey.: image via Robert Gauthier @rgaut999, 28 August 2017


The rivers rise - so do rescue efforts. Harvey.: image via Robert Gauthier @rgaut999, 28 August 2017


The rivers rise - so do rescue efforts. Harvey.: image via Robert Gauthier @rgaut999, 28 August 2017


The rivers rise - so do rescue efforts. Harvey.: image via Robert Gauthier @rgaut999, 28 August 2017

Sam Speights tries to hold back tears while holding his dogs and surveying the damage to his home in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017, in Rockport, Texas. Speights tried to stay in his home during the storm but had to move to other shelter after he lost his roof and back wall. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Sam Speights tries to hold back tears while holding his dogs and surveying the damage to his home in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017, in Rockport, Texas. Speights tried to stay in his home during the storm but had to move to other shelter after he lost his roof and back wall.: photo by Eric Gay/AP, 27 August 2017

Sam Speights tries to hold back tears while holding his dogs and surveying the damage to his home in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017, in Rockport, Texas. Speights tried to stay in his home during the storm but had to move to other shelter after he lost his roof and back wall. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Sam Speights tries to hold back tears while holding his dogs and surveying the damage to his home in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017, in Rockport, Texas. Speights tried to stay in his home during the storm but had to move to other shelter after he lost his roof and back wall.: photo by Eric Gay/AP, 27 August 2017

As a preventative measure, empty Metro buses are lined up in the center lanes of Interstate 59 near Cavalcade in case their bus shelters flood, Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017, in Houston. (Mark Mulligan/Houston Chronicle via AP)

As a preventative measure, empty Metro buses are lined up in the center lanes of Interstate 59 near Cavalcade in case their bus shelters flood, Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017, in Houston.: photo by Mark Mulligan/Houston Chronicle via AP, 26 August 2017

As a preventative measure, empty Metro buses are lined up in the center lanes of Interstate 59 near Cavalcade in case their bus shelters flood, Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017, in Houston. (Mark Mulligan/Houston Chronicle via AP)

As a preventative measure, empty Metro buses are lined up in the center lanes of Interstate 59 near Cavalcade in case their bus shelters flood, Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017, in Houston.: photo by Mark Mulligan/Houston Chronicle via AP, 26 August 2017

A man walks through floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey as he evacuates his home on Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017, in Houston, Texas. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

A man walks through floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey as he evacuates his home on Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017, in Houston, Texas.: photo by Charlie Riedel/AP, 27 August 2017

A man walks through floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey as he evacuates his home on Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017, in Houston, Texas. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

A man walks through floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey as he evacuates his home on Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017, in Houston, Texas.: photo by Charlie Riedel/AP, 27 August 2017

A driver works his way through a maze of fallen utility poles damaged in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017, in Taft, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

A driver works his way through a maze of fallen utility poles damaged in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017, in Taft, Texas.: photo by Eric Gay/AP, 26 August 2017

A driver works his way through a maze of fallen utility poles damaged in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017, in Taft, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

A driver works his way through a maze of fallen utility poles damaged in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017, in Taft, Texas.: photo by Eric Gay/AP, 26 August 2017

Melani Zurawski cries while inspecting her home in Port Aransas, Texas, on Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017.  (Nick Wagner/Austin American-Statesman via AP)

Melani Zurawski cries while inspecting her home in Port Aransas, Texas, on Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017.: photo by Nick Wagner/Austin American-Statesman via AP, 27 August 2017

Melani Zurawski cries while inspecting her home in Port Aransas, Texas, on Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017.  (Nick Wagner/Austin American-Statesman via AP)

Melani Zurawski cries while inspecting her home in Port Aransas, Texas, on Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017.: photo by Nick Wagner/Austin American-Statesman via AP, 27 August 2017
 
Men check on a boat storage facility that was damaged by Hurricane Harvey, Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017, in Rockport, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Men check on a boat storage facility that was damaged by Hurricane Harvey, Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017, in Rockport, Texas.: photo by Eric Gay/AP, 26 August 2017

Men check on a boat storage facility that was damaged by Hurricane Harvey, Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017, in Rockport, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Men check on a boat storage facility that was damaged by Hurricane Harvey, Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017, in Rockport, Texas.: photo by Eric Gay/AP, 26 August 2017
 
A row of clothes dryers are exposed to the elements after a laundromat lost its roof and portions of walls in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017, in Rockport, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

A row of clothes dryers are exposed to the elements after a laundromat lost its roof and portions of walls in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017, in Rockport, Texas.: photo by Eric Gay/AP, 26 August 2017

A row of clothes dryers are exposed to the elements after a laundromat lost its roof and portions of walls in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017, in Rockport, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

A row of clothes dryers are exposed to the elements after a laundromat lost its roof and portions of walls in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017, in Rockport, Texas.: photo by Eric Gay/AP, 26 August 2017

Houston Police SWAT officer Daryl Hudeck carries Connie Pham and her 13-month-old son Aiden after rescuing them from their home surrounded by floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Houston Police SWAT officer Daryl Hudeck carries Connie Pham and her 13-month-old son Aiden after rescuing them from their home surrounded by floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017, in Houston.: photo by David J. Phillip/AP, 27 August 2017

Houston Police SWAT officer Daryl Hudeck carries Connie Pham and her 13-month-old son Aiden after rescuing them from their home surrounded by floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Houston Police SWAT officer Daryl Hudeck carries Connie Pham and her 13-month-old son Aiden after rescuing them from their home surrounded by floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017, in Houston.: photo by David J. Phillip/AP, 27 August 2017

A damaged car sits outside a heavily damaged apartment complex in Rockport, Texas, after Hurricane Harvey struck the area, Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017. (Courtney Sacco/Corpus Christi Caller-Times via AP)

A damaged car sits outside a heavily damaged apartment complex in Rockport, Texas, after Hurricane Harvey struck the area, Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017.: photo by Courtney Sacco/Corpus Christi Caller-Times via AP, 26 August 2017

A damaged car sits outside a heavily damaged apartment complex in Rockport, Texas, after Hurricane Harvey struck the area, Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017. (Courtney Sacco/Corpus Christi Caller-Times via AP)

A damaged car sits outside a heavily damaged apartment complex in Rockport, Texas, after Hurricane Harvey struck the area, Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017.: photo by Courtney Sacco/Corpus Christi Caller-Times via AP, 26 August 2017

Residents are rescued from their homes surrounded by floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey on Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017, in Houston, Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Residents are rescued from their homes surrounded by floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey on Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017, in Houston, Texas.: photo by David J. Phillip/AP, 27 August 2017

Residents are rescued from their homes surrounded by floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey on Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017, in Houston, Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Residents are rescued from their homes surrounded by floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey on Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017, in Houston, Texas.: photo by David J. Phillip/AP, 27 August 2017

People push a stalled pickup through a flooded street in Houston, after Tropical Storm Harvey dumped heavy rains Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

People push a stalled pickup through a flooded street in Houston, after Tropical Storm Harvey dumped heavy rains Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017.: photo by Charlie Riedel/AP, 27 August 2017

People push a stalled pickup through a flooded street in Houston, after Tropical Storm Harvey dumped heavy rains Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

People push a stalled pickup through a flooded street in Houston, after Tropical Storm Harvey dumped heavy rains Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017.: photo by Charlie Riedel/AP, 27 August 2017

Residents pick through needed items at a make-shift aid station, Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017, in Rockport, Texas. A group from the Texas Rio Grande Valley created the station for those in need following Hurricane Harvey. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Residents pick through needed items at a make-shift aid station, Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017, in Rockport, Texas. A group from the Texas Rio Grande Valley created the station for those in need following Hurricane Harvey.: photo by Eric Gay/AP, 27 August 2017

Residents pick through needed items at a make-shift aid station, Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017, in Rockport, Texas. A group from the Texas Rio Grande Valley created the station for those in need following Hurricane Harvey. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Residents pick through needed items at a make-shift aid station, Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017, in Rockport, Texas. A group from the Texas Rio Grande Valley created the station for those in need following Hurricane Harvey.: photo by Eric Gay/AP, 27 August 2017

Harvey

A home is surrounded by floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey on Monday, Aug. 28, 2017, in Spring, Texas.: photo by David J. Phillip/AP, 28 August 2017

Harvey

A home is surrounded by floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey on Monday, Aug. 28, 2017, in Spring, Texas.: photo by David J. Phillip/AP, 28 August 2017

Neighbors used their personal boats to rescue Jane Rhodes, Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017, in Friendswood, Texas. (Steve Gonzales/Houston Chronicle via AP)

Neighbors use their personal boats to rescue Jane Rhodes, Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017, in Friendswood, Texas.: photo by Steve Gonzales/Houston Chronicle via AP, 27 August 2017

Neighbors used their personal boats to rescue Jane Rhodes, Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017, in Friendswood, Texas. (Steve Gonzales/Houston Chronicle via AP) 
 
Neighbors use their personal boats to rescue Jane Rhodes, Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017, in Friendswood, Texas.: photo by Steve Gonzales/Houston Chronicle via AP, 27 August 2017

Harvey

Alexendre Jorge evacuates Ethan Colman, 4, from a neighborhood inundated by floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey on Monday, Aug. 28, 2017, in Houston, Texas.: photo by Charlie Riedel/AP, 28 August 2017

Harvey

Alexendre Jorge evacuates Ethan Colman, 4, from a neighborhood inundated by floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey on Monday, Aug. 28, 2017, in Houston, Texas.: photo by Charlie Riedel/AP, 28 August 2017

A dog balances on an appliance of a destroyed mobile home in Tivoli, Texas Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017 after the area was destroyed by Hurricane Harvey.  (The Victoria Advocate via AP)

A dog balances on an appliance of a destroyed mobile home in Tivoli, Texas Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017 after the area was destroyed by Hurricane Harvey.: photo by The Victoria Advocate via AP, 27 August 2017

A dog balances on an appliance of a destroyed mobile home in Tivoli, Texas Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017 after the area was destroyed by Hurricane Harvey.  (The Victoria Advocate via AP)

A dog balances on an appliance of a destroyed mobile home in Tivoli, Texas Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017 after the area was destroyed by Hurricane Harvey.: photo by The Victoria Advocate via AP, 27 August 2017

A man walks to his home in a neighborhood inundated by floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey on Monday, Aug. 28, 2017, in Houston, Texas. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
 
A man walks to his home in a neighborhood inundated by floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey on Monday, Aug. 28, 2017, in Houston, Texas.: photo by Charlie Riedel/AP, 28 August 2017

A man walks to his home in a neighborhood inundated by floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey on Monday, Aug. 28, 2017, in Houston, Texas. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

A man walks to his home in a neighborhood inundated by floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey on Monday, Aug. 28, 2017, in Houston, Texas.: photo by Charlie Riedel/AP, 28 August 2017