Residents are being warned to ‘get out or die’ as waters in a nearby reservoir rise in an east Texas county and Harvey continues to move northeast towards Louisiana, bringing more rain and floods as people continue to evacuate and fill already overcrowded shelters.
Despite the fact that Harvey has been downgraded from a tropical storm to a tropical depression, the National Hurricane Center warned of continuing flooding in parts of southeast Texas and southwest Louisiana.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott warned residents that the worst of Hurricane Harvey is not over and that it will take months for the state to recover from its devastating floods.
In Beaumont, 26 inches of rain have already fallen and another 10 inches are due to fall before Harvey moves away and on to its next victim – Louisiana.
When he left around 2.30am Wednesday, there were 80 to 100 people sheltering there.
Search and rescue missions are still underway and the number of people still trapped in their homes is unknown.
As waters continue to rise, public health officials are warning that flooding increases the risk of illnesses ranging from skin rashes to bacterial and viral infections and mosquito-borne disease.
Mayor Turner also said Tuesday the city has asked the Federal Emergency Management Agency for more supplies, including cots and food, for additional 10,000 people, which he hopes to get no later than Wednesday.
About 500 people were evacuated Monday night and early Tuesday from flooded neighborhoods in southwest Louisiana, and about 200 spent the night in area shelters, Edwards said.
… Public health fears as diseases spread by flood water threaten Hurricane Harvey survivors US public health officials warned Monday that flooding increases the risk of ills ranging from skin rashes to bacterial and viral infections and mosquito-borne disease.