‘Hurricane Harvey’ has brought death and destruction to the Houston area!
The relentless storm swept across the Texas Gulf Coast — bringing torrential rains causing catastrophic floods that will continue for days.
According to the National Hurricane Center, the system has now been downgraded to a tropical storm — but not before causing five deaths and more than a dozen injuries!
The NHC sent out a tweet, saying, “The effects associated with Tropical Storm Harvey are “unprecedented” and “unknown and beyond anything experienced.”
Emergency responders completed more than 1,000 high-water rescues overnight and are asking the public to donate boats with rainfall expected to rise over 50 inches in some areas — making traveling around the area almost impossible.
“Everything that we had hoped wouldn’t happen but was forecasted is happening,” said Dennis Feltgen, a National Hurricane Center spokesman. “We have a catastrophic, life-threatening flood event taking place over southeastern Texas, including the Houston metropolitan area. It’s bad now and it’s getting worse.”
National Guard soldiers descended on Houston in high-powered vehicles to make rescues in flooded neighborhoods. Motorists stranded on area highways were calling out for help through their cellphones to bring them to safety.
New York City has also dispatched members of New York’s Police and Fire Departments, emergency medical personnel and The New York City Urban Search and Rescue Organization to Houston to aid in the recovery efforts.
President Donald Trump is planning to visit the Lone Star State to survey the damage and congratulated local officials and emergency workers for their response to the treacherous conditions.
“Many people are now saying that this is the worst storm/hurricane they have ever seen. Good news is that we have great talent on the ground,” tweeted Trump.
