At least 5 people have died and more than a dozen are injured after Hurricane Harvey carved across the Gulf Coast of Texas, pummelling the region with tropical storms and torrential rains.
The National Weather Service forecast rainfall of 15 to 25 inches through Friday. In a tweet, the service described the weather event as “unprecedented” and “beyond anything experienced”.
This event is unprecedented & all impacts are unknown & beyond anything experienced. Follow orders from officials to ensure safety. #Harvey pic.twitter.com/IjpWLey1h8
— National Weather Service (@NWS) August 27, 2017
The storm wreaked havoc in the Houston area, where the five deaths were reported. Desperate residents began sending tweets to emergency services asking for help, after emergency lines became tied up by people stranded on highways.
Car almost completely submerged at Gulf Fwy. & Wayside. Gulf Fwy. is shut down. #Harvey #Khou11 pic.twitter.com/bDYVLSKhcT
— Janelle Bludau (@JanelleKHOU) August 27, 2017
Some of the imagery of the flooding is pretty intense:
https://twitter.com/DividendsMGR/status/901805509950541825?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Ffeedly.com%2F
Emergency responders completed over 1000 high water rescues throughout the night. City officials had told residents to move to the roofs of their houses as flooding intensified.
It is expected that the death toll will likely rise as rescue operations continue. We’ll keep you posted.
