August 27, 2017

The Flooding in Houston Is Absolutely Devastating

Fifty inches of rain could fall in parts of Texas.

Mark Mulligan/Houston Chronicle via AP

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Hurricane Harvey has now been downgraded to a tropical storm, but the devastation is only just beginning for southeast Texas. After the storm made landfall near Rockport, Texas, as a powerful Category 4 hurricane, emergency officials reported heavy damages to buildings in homes in the small town of 10,000 as well as in nearby Port Aransas. Now, catastrophic flooding has begun. Two feet of rain fell in just 24 hours in Houston. Forecasters are calling for as much as 50 inches of rain, the highest ever recorded in Texas, by the time the storm is over.

The National Weather Service in Houston issued a flash flood emergency as reports of devastating flooding began to come in.

By Sunday morning, highways and neighborhoods were already submerged.

911 services were overwhelmed as stranded people called for help.

More than 1,000 people have been rescued so far in the Houston area. The rain is expected to continue to fall for the next few days with the possibility of the storm going back out to the Gulf of Mexico and making another landfall in Houston on Wednesday.

More Mother Jones reporting on Climate Desk

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