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TEXAS IS BRACED for a renewed battering by Hurricane Harvey and President Donald Trump - facing the first major natural disaster of his presidency – declared a state of emergency in neighbouring Louisiana this evening.
Trump plans to go to the disaster zone tomorrow and aides said he has been constantly in touch with federal and state officials involved in the response.
Speaking this evening, Trump said: “It’s a historical amount of water, we’ve never seen anything like it.”
911 emergency services in Houston, Texas has received well over 50,000 calls following the massive flooding unleashed by deadly monster storm Harvey.
Rescue teams in boats, trucks and helicopters scrambled today to reach hundreds of Texans marooned on flooded streets in and around the city of Houston before the storm returns.
[image alt="News: Hurricane Harvey" src="http://cdn.thejournal.ie/media/2017/08/news-hurricane-harvey-7-296x197.jpg" width="296" height="197" credit-source="SIPA%20USA%2FPA%20Images" caption="Thousands%20are%20pushed%20out%20of%20their%20homes%20following%20the%20vicious%20storm.%20" class="alignnone" /end]
“We thank our first responders and all of those involved in the efforts. We’ve pledged our full support as Texas and Louisiana battle and recover from this very devastating and historic storm,” Trump said today.
“Recovery will be a long and difficult road and the federal government stands ready, willing and able to support that effort.”
According to reports by local media outlet KHOU, six people drowned in floodwaters in north-east Houston today, while two others were confirmed dead over the weekend.
Harvey has turned back on itself and is hovering on the Gulf Coast, sucking up more rain and threatening a new landfall on Wednesday.
Houston mayor Sylvester Turner has said more than 2,000 people had been brought, soaking and desperate to rapidly filling shelters in America’s fourth largest city – and more are yet to come.
“The goal is to rescue, that’s the major focus of the day,” Turner said, flanked by grim-faced city officials at a televised press conference, warning that 185 “critical rescue missions” are still pending and many more are expected.
“People are needing clothing. Literally, people are coming in and they are coming in wet,” he said.
We have kids, babies, up to senior citizens. They are needing everything. They are needing clothing, food, medical supplies.
[image alt="Harvey" src="http://cdn.thejournal.ie/media/2017/08/harvey-26-296x197.jpg" width="296" height="197" credit-source="AP%2FPA%20Images" caption="George%20R%20Brown%20Convention%20Center%20in%20Houston%20has%20been%20turned%20into%20an%20emergency%20shelter.%20" class="alignnone" /end]
Houston fire chief Samuel Pena urged patience, promising: “We fully recognise there are many other people out there in distress situations and we intend to get to every one of them.”
Coast Guard commander Vice Admiral Karl Shultz told CNN that he had 18 helicopters in Houston, and weather permitting about 12 in the air at any one time, alongside those of the National Guard.
“If you can get to your roof, wave a towel. Leave a marking on the roof so helicopter crews can see you,” he said, describing the volume of emergency calls as “staggering”.
Dams opened
Harvey hit Texas on Friday as a Category Four hurricane, tearing down homes and businesses on the Gulf Coast before dumping what meteorologists said was an “unprecedented” nine trillion gallons of rainfall inland.
The Texas bayou and coastal prairie rapidly flooded, but the region’s sprawling cities – where drainage is slower – were worst hit, with highways swamped and street after street of housing rapidly rendered uninhabitable, power lines cut and dams overflowing.
The US Army Corps of Engineers today moved to progressively open the Addicks and Barker dams – under pressure from what the agency has dubbed a “thousand-year flood event” – to prevent a catastrophe on the outskirts of Houston.
[image alt="Harvey" src="http://cdn.thejournal.ie/media/2017/08/harvey-27-296x201.jpg" width="296" height="201" credit-source="Jay%20Janner" credit-via="PA%20Images" caption="Bobby%20Nelson%20(78)%20is%20rescued%20from%20his%20flooded%20home.%20" class="alignnone" /end]
Clean-up operation
After the storm hits again later in the week, clean-up and recovery will continue.
“We actually anticipate that as many as a half-a-million people in Texas will be eligible for and applying for financial disaster assistance,” Vice President Mike Pence told KHOU Radio in Houston.
“We know it’s far from over. We know there’s more rain coming. The flood waters will likely continue to rise,” he warned.
[image alt="Harvey" src="http://cdn.thejournal.ie/media/2017/08/harvey-28-296x165.jpg" width="296" height="165" credit-source="Eric%20Gay" credit-via="PA%20Images" caption="Hundreds%20of%20houses%20were%20destroyed%20as%20Hurricane%20Harvey%20ravaged%20through%20Houston" class="alignnone" /end]
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) administrator Brock Long said finding shelter for those flooded out of their homes would be his next priority.
“This is a landmark event. We have not seen an event like this. You could not dream this forecast up. You couldn’t draw this situation up,” he warned.
Beyond anything experienced
The National Weather Service said that between 1 June and Sunday, Houston had received 46 inches of rain – almost as much as it would expect in a year – in only three months.
“The breadth and intensity of this rainfall are beyond anything experienced before,” the NWS said, as the storm spawned tornadoes and lashed east and central Texas with torrential rains.
Boats also were being deployed, but more were needed. Harris County Judge Ed Emmett appealed to residents to use their own vessels.
While many citizens rushed to help their neighbours, some were less helpful, and Houston police chief Art Acevedo warned that his officers were on the lookout for looters.
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Crazy how many people fall out of windows in Russia.
@Seán Ó Briain: The window was shook by earthly tremors outside and leapt into the room and consumed Maganov who then dutifully fell through said window!
FSB agents passing the hospital ward were witnesses to the event! They quickly left the building in borrowed hospital gowns…
@Seán Ó Briain: defenestration – russians are pros at it
@Johnny Honest: beat me to it!
Hmmmm, there are a lot of Russians dying mysteriously these days.
How does anyone live in a terrorist state?
@Genera L Consensus: we’re going to find out.
@Genera L Consensus: there’s been people living in places like the UK, US and Russia for centuries. More recently. UAE and Saudi. Some seem to be doing quite well.
@John Mulligan: #sad
Those Russian windows are lethal / people forever falling out of them.
Putin !
@Martin Lynch: Put out!
In Soviet Russia, elite hospital kills you.
Severe illness of ground speed.
Amazing this story only appears now!
@Con Cussed: why are you amazed? Because its amazing perhaps?
@Con Cussed: even more amazing that a high profile businessman who’s company publicly opposed the illegal invasion of a neighbouring country, is found to have ‘fallen’ from a hospital window. Considering he was sick,its a pretty amazing, and suspicious thing to have happened.
@Dawn Harvey: Agreed. This is a message to all those who would speak out against Putin. Why would someone who is attending hospital to heal themselves ever commit suicide?
How many FSB/GRU agents were in the room at the time of the event?
They’re quite accident-prone, what with the number of poisonings, window leaping, dropped cigarettes and now missiles that don’t take off. Life expectancy is very short in Russia.
The state-controlled TASS news agency cited an unnamed law enforcement source as saying Maganov had committed suicide by jumping from a sixth-story window after being admitted to the hospital for a heart attack. The news site RBK also said police were investigating the possibility of suicide.
Clearly didnt get the memo on time over at Taas News Agency
@Dave Hammond: most unfortunate the CCTV was closed down for maintenance at time of the incident….!
As, the lyrics go “Did he jump or was he pushed” ?
“Fell” Russian for pushed!!!
Did you hear the one about the Russian journalist that died falling from their ground floor apartment… very clumsy those Russians.
@Dave: too much vodka
Not suspicious in the slightest…..
What no piano being installed this time
Fell out a window. Onto some bullets.
@Colm de Cleir: Found some stab wounds too
He fell ill
Oppps….
The Russians will be announcing tomorrow that they have ‘solved’ the cause if this mysterious death
Jesus the Ukrainians are back from Estonia with their window clearing van. The FSB spotted them again but they were able to escape back across the border.
Hmmmm… was the window made of novichok? Was Vlad Puta standing nearby?
It beats drinking tea!
Roger Podacter suffered a similar fate
Running out of ways to die/disappear ! That individual should not have (novo-checkedin) to that Hospital
Terrible to see and worse not surprising. Who will get the blame, is there another mini cooper in the mix or are the Ninga Window Cleaners at it again.
Strange how all of the antiwr people are having “accidents” and even the prowar putin critics are getting blown up.
The one thing they have in common, they are anti putin.
Running out of ways to die/disappear ! That individual should not have (novo-checkedin) to that Hospital
I’ll bet you any money, not unlike the kerry woman, he was ironing the curtains.
have your say