Houston sees glimmer of hope after Harvey but threats loom
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The Arkema Inc. chemical plant is flooded from Tropical Storm Harvey, Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2017, in Crosby, Texas. The plant, about 25 miles (40.23 kilometers) northeast of Houston, lost power and its backup generators amid Harvey’s dayslong deluge, leaving it without refrigeration for chemicals that become volatile as the temperature rises. (Godofredo A. Vasquez/Houston Chronicle via AP)
Published August 31, 2017 at 12:04 PM Updated September 2, 2017 at 3:33 PM
Harvey’s floodwaters started dropping across much of the Houston area and the storm weakened slightly Wednesday but major dangers remained for the U.S. Gulf Coast area, including the threat of an explosion at a stricken Texas chemical plant and major flooding further east near the Texas-Louisiana line.
The scope of the devastation caused by the hurricane came into sharper focus, meanwhile, and the murky green floodwaters from the record-breaking, 4-foot deluge of rain began yielding up more bodies as predicted.
Texans seek rescue and refuge from Harvey
Demetres Fair holds a towel over his daughter Damouri Fair, 2, as they are rescued by boat by members of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and the Houston Fire Department during flooding from Tropical Storm Harvey, Monday, Aug. 28, 2017. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Texans seek rescue and refuge from Harvey
Demetres Fair wipes his eyes as he holds his daughter Damouri Fair, 2, as he is rescued by boat by members of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and the Houston Fire Department during flooding from Tropical Storm Harvey in Houston, Monday, Aug. 28, 2017. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Texans seek rescue and refuge from Harvey
Demetria Fair holds a towel over her four-day-old daughter Dakota Fair, as they are rescued by boat by members of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and the Houston Fire Department during flooding from Tropical Storm Harvey in Houston, Monday, Aug. 28, 2017. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Texans seek rescue and refuge from Harvey
The South Park Cemetery in Pearland, Texas, is flooded by rains from Hurricane Harvey on August 29, 2017.
(AFP PHOTO / AFP/LamaLens / H. Ellessy)
Texans seek rescue and refuge from Harvey
Members of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries help rescue Mike Henry, right, and his partner Rosemarie Carpenter during flooding from Tropical Storm Harvey in Orange, Texas, Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2017. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Texans seek rescue and refuge from Harvey
People wait to help evacuees during the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey on August 29, 2017 in Houston, Texas.
Hurricane Harvey has set what forecasters believe is a new rainfall record for the continental United States, officials said Tuesday. (AFP PHOTO / Brendan Smialowski)
Texans seek rescue and refuge from Harvey
HOUSTON, TX - AUGUST 29: Residents are evacuated from their homes after severe flooding following Hurricane Harvey in north Houston August 29, 2017 in Houston, Texas. (Win McNamee/Getty Images/AFP)
Texans seek rescue and refuge from Harvey
Volunteer rescuers evacuate people from a flooded residential area during the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey on August 29, 2017 in Houston, Texas.
Floodwaters have breached a levee south of the city of Houston, officials said Tuesday, urging residents to leave the area immediately. (AFP PHOTO / Brendan Smialowski)
Texans seek rescue and refuge from Harvey
HOUSTON, TX - AUGUST 29: Matthew Koser looks for important papers and heirlooms inside his grandfather's house after it was flooded by heavy rains from Hurricane Harvey August 29, 2017 in the Bear Creek neighborhood of west Houston, Texas. The neighborhood flooded after water was released from nearby Addicks Reservoir. ( Erich Schlegel/Getty Images/AFP)
Texans seek rescue and refuge from Harvey
Loved ones help put rain coats on children after they escaped a flooded neighborhood during the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey on August 29, 2017 in Houston, Texas.
Floodwaters have breached a levee south of the city of Houston, officials said Tuesday, urging residents to leave the area immediately. (AFP PHOTO / Brendan Smialowski)
Texans seek rescue and refuge from Harvey
Vinh Nguyen rests his daughter Kailie, 18 months, as he hops over a highway divider after being rescued in boats by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, during flooding from Tropical Storm Harvey, which hit Texas last week as a Category 4 hurricane in Houston, Monday, Aug. 28, 2017. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Texans seek rescue and refuge from Harvey
HOUSTON, TX - AUGUST 29: People make their way out of a flooded neighborhood after it was inundated with rain water following Hurricane Harvey on August 29, 2017 in Houston, Texas. (Scott Olson/Getty Images/AFP)
Texans seek rescue and refuge from Harvey
HOUSTON, TX - AUGUST 29: A volunteer carries a woman whose home was impacted by severe flooding following Hurricane Harvey in north Houston August 29, 2017 in Houston, Texas. (Win McNamee/Getty Images/AFP)
Texans seek rescue and refuge from Harvey
HOUSTON, TX - AUGUST 29: An elderly woman leaves her home and is helped into a boat after flooding caused by heavy rain during Hurricane Harvey August 29, 2017 in the Bear Creek neighborhood in west Houston, Texas. The neighborhood flooded after water was released from nearby Addicks Reservoir. (Erich Schlegel/Getty Images/AFP)
Texans seek rescue and refuge from Harvey
HOUSTON, TX - AUGUST 29: Rescue workers and volunteers help residents make their way out of a flooded neighborhood after it was inundated with rain water following Hurricane Harvey on August 29, 2017 in Houston, Texas. (Scott Olson/Getty Images/AFP)
Texans seek rescue and refuge from Harvey
HOUSTON, TX - AUGUST 29: Rescue workers and volunteers help residents make their way out of a flooded neighborhood after it was inundated with rain water following Hurricane Harvey on August 29, 2017 in Houston, Texas. (Scott Olson/Getty Images/AFP)
Texans seek rescue and refuge from Harvey
HOUSTON, TX - AUGUST 29: Evacuees arrive at the George R. Brown Convention Center after flood waters from Hurricane Harvey inundated the city on August 29, 2017 in Houston, Texas. The evacuation center which is overcapacity has already received more than 9,000 evacuees with more arriving. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images/AFP)
Texans seek rescue and refuge from Harvey
HOUSTON, TX - AUGUST 29: People take shelter at the George R. Brown Convention Center after flood waters from Hurricane Harvey inundated the city on August 29, 2017 in Houston, Texas. The evacuation center which is overcapacity has already received more than 9,000 evacuees with more arriving. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images/AFP)
Texans seek rescue and refuge from Harvey
HOUSTON, TX - AUGUST 29: People take shelter at the George R. Brown Convention Center after flood waters from Hurricane Harvey inundated the city on August 29, 2017 in Houston, Texas. The evacuation center which is overcapacity has already received more than 9,000 evacuees with more arriving. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images/AFP)
Texans seek rescue and refuge from Harvey
Evacuees arrive at the Convention Center which is housing people from flooded homes after Hurricane Harvey caused heavy flooding in Houston, Texas on August 29, 2017.
(AFP PHOTO / MARK RALSTON)
Texans seek rescue and refuge from Harvey
A man sleeps outside the Convention Center which is housing evacuees from flooded homes after Hurricane Harvey caused heavy flooding in Houston, Texas on August 29, 2017.
(AFP PHOTO / MARK RALSTON)
Texans seek rescue and refuge from Harvey
HOUSTON, TX - AUGUST 29: Volunteers organize donated ermegency supplies at the temporary shelter at the Lakewood Church August 29, 2017 in Houston, Texas. (Win McNamee/Getty Images/AFP)
Epic Flooding Inundates Houston After Hurricane Harvey
CHANNELVIEW, TX - AUGUST 29: People look over donated clothing items at a shelter after they were displaced when their neighborhoods were flooded with rain water following Hurricane Harvey on August 29, 2017 in Channelview, Texas. (Scott Olson/Getty Images/AFP)
Texans seek rescue and refuge from Harvey
CHANNELVIEW, TX - AUGUST 29: People look over donated clothing items at a shelter after they were displaced when their neighborhoods were flooded with rain water following Hurricane Harvey on August 29, 2017 in Channelview, Texas. (Scott Olson/Getty Images/AFP)
Texans seek rescue and refuge from Harvey
CHANNELVIEW, TX - AUGUST 29: Volunteers sort through donated clothing items at a shelter which will be distibuted to families displaced after their neighborhoods were inundated with rain water following Hurricane Harvey on August 29, 2017 in Channelview, Texas. (Scott Olson/Getty Images/AFP)
Texans seek rescue and refuge from Harvey
Hurricane Harvey Evacuees rest at the Delco Center in East Austin on August 29, 2017, where 220 evacuees are currently being hosted.
Floodwaters have breached a levee south of the city of Houston, officials said Tuesday, urging residents to leave the area immediately. (AFP PHOTO / SUZANNE CORDEIRO)
Texans seek rescue and refuge from Harvey
CHANNELVIEW, TX - AUGUST 29: Christine Garcia relaxes with her eight-year-old daughter Mia in the Channelview High School gym which has been turned in to an evacuation shelter for victims of flooding following Hurricane Harvey on August 29, 2017 in Channelview, Texas. (Scott Olson/Getty Images/AFP)
Texans seek rescue and refuge from Harvey
HOUSTON, TX - AUGUST 29: Mark Ocosta and his baby Aubrey Ocosta take shelter at the George R. Brown Convention Center after flood waters from Hurricane Harvey inundated the city on August 29, 2017 in Houston, Texas. The evacuation center which is overcapacity has already received more than 9,000 evacuees with more arriving. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images/AFP)
The confirmed death toll climbed to at least 31, including six family members — four of them children — whose bodies were pulled Wednesday from a van that had been swept off a Houston bridge into a bayou.
“Unfortunately, it seems that our worst thoughts are being realized,” Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said after the van that disappeared over the weekend was found in 10 feet of muddy water.
As the water receded, Houston’s fire department said it would begin a block-by-block search Thursday of thousands of flooded homes. Assistant Fire Chief Richard Mann said the searches were to ensure “no people were left behind.”
While conditions in the nation’s fourth-largest city appeared to improve, another crisis related to Harvey emerged at a chemical plant about 25 miles (40 kilometers) northeast of Houston. A spokeswoman for the Arkema Inc. plant in Crosby, Texas, said late Wednesday that the flooded facility had lost power and backup generators, leaving it without refrigeration for chemicals that become volatile as the temperature rises.
“The fire will happen. It will resemble a gasoline fire. It will be explosive and intense in nature,” said Janet Smith, spokeswoman for the French company.
The last of the plant’s employees evacuated on Tuesday and residents within 1.5 miles (2.4 kilometers) were told to leave.
Arkema submitted a plan to the federal government in 2014 outlining a worst-case scenario that said potentially 1.1 million residents could be affected by such an event over a distance of 23 miles, according to information compiled by a nonprofit group. But the company said Wednesday that a worst-case scenario was “very unlikely.”
Another threat was emerging east of Houston where weather conditions deteriorated close to the Louisiana line.
Beaumont and Port Arthur, Texas, struggled with rising floodwaters and worked to evacuate residents after Harvey completed a U-turn in the Gulf of Mexico and rolled ashore early Wednesday for the second time in six days. It hit southwestern Louisiana as a tropical storm with heavy rain and winds of 45 mph.
Forecasters downgraded Harvey to a tropical depression late Wednesday from a tropical storm but it still has lots of rain and potential damage to spread, with 4 to 8 inches forecast from the Louisiana-Texas line into Tennessee and Kentucky through Friday. Some spots may get as much as a foot, raising the risk of more flooding.
For much of the Houston area, forecasters said the rain is pretty much over.
“We have good news,” said Jeff Lindner, a meteorologist with the Harris County Flood Control District. “The water levels are going down.”
Houston’s two major airports were up and running again Wednesday. Officials said they were resuming limited bus and light rail service as well as trash pickup.
At Hermann Park, south of downtown, children glided by in strollers and wagons, joggers took in midday runs and couples walked beside cascading fountains and beneath a sparkling sun. People pulled into drive-thru restaurants and emerged from a store with groceries.
At the same time, many thousands of Houston-area homes are under water and could stay that way for days or weeks. And Lindner cautioned that homes near at least one swollen bayou could still get flooded.
Officials said 911 centers in the Houston area are getting more than 1,000 calls an hour from people seeking help.
In Houston’s flooded Meyerland neighborhood, hundreds of families emptied their homes of sodden possessions under a baking sun as the temperature climbed into the 90s. They piled up couches, soggy drywall and carpets ripped out of foul-smelling homes where the floodwaters had lingered for more than 24 hours.
The curbs were lined with the pickup trucks of cleanup contractors and friends.
For Harry Duffey, a 48-year-old computer security specialist, this was flood No. 3 in as many years. Just before the flood, he got a notice that his flood insurance premium had nearly doubled to $5,300 a year.
“Everywhere we look this water has cost me money after money after money. It just does not end,” he said. But he said he has no intention of moving: “This is in my blood. This is where I’m from.”
Altogether, more than 1,000 homes in Texas were destroyed and close to 50,000 damaged, and over 32,000 people were in shelters across the state, emergency officials reported. About 10,000 more National Guard troops are being deployed to Texas, bringing the total to 24,000, Gov. Greg Abbott said.
Evacuees
Evacuees wade down a flooded section of Interstate 610 as floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey rise Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017, in Houston. The remnants of Hurricane Harvey sent devastating floods pouring into Houston Sunday as rising water chased thousands of people to rooftops or higher ground. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
APTOPIX Harvey
People push a stalled pickup to through a flooded street in Houston, after Tropical Storm Harvey dumped heavy rains, Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017. The remnants of Hurricane Harvey sent devastating floods pouring into Houston on Sunday as rising water chased thousands of people to rooftops or higher ground. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Harvey
A man carries a child across a flooded street in Houston after Tropical Storm Harvey dumped heavy rains northeast Texas, Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017. The remnants of Hurricane Harvey sent devastating floods pouring into Houston Sunday as rising water chased thousands of people to rooftops or higher ground. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Harvey
A man floats past a truck submerged on a freeway flooded by Tropical Storm Harvey on Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017, near downtown Houston. The remnants of Hurricane Harvey sent devastating floods pouring into Houston Sunday as rising water chased thousands of people to rooftops or higher ground. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Harvey
Cattle are stranded in a flooded pasture on Highway 71 in La Grange, Texas, after Hurricane Harvey on Monday, Aug. 28, 2017. (Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via AP)
Harvey
Gov. Greg Abbott speaks at a news conference about Hurricane Harvey at the State Operations Center in Austin, Texas, on Friday, Aug. 25, 2017. Hurricane Harvey is shaping up as just about a worst-case scenario storm with possible flooding from two different directions. ( Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via AP)
Harvey
A tattered U.S. flag whips in the wind in Geronimo, Texas, during Hurricane Harvey on Saturday August 26, 2017. (Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via AP)
Harvey
Roger Braugh Jr. searches for his boat is this boat storage facility in Cove Harbor in Rockport, Texas, in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017. (Rachel Denny Clow/Corpus Christi Caller-Times via AP)
Harvey
The Texas state flag and American flag wave in the wind over an area of debris left behind in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017, in Rockport, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Epic Flooding Inundates Houston After Hurricane Harvey
HOUSTON, TX - AUGUST 27: Riley Gardell (R) and Jacob Song make their way across a flooded parking lot on the campus of Rice University afer it was inundated with water from Hurricane Harvey on August 27, 2017 in Houston, Texas. Harvey, which made landfall north of Corpus Christi late Friday evening, is expected to dump upwards to 40 inches of rain in areas of Texas over the next couple of days. Scott Olson/Getty Images/AFP
Hurricane Harvey Slams Into Texas Gulf Coast
HOUSTON, TX - AUGUST 27: Naomi Coto carries Simba on her shoulders as they evacuate their home after the area was inundated with flooding from Hurricane Harvey on August 27, 2017 in Houston, Texas. Harvey, which made landfall north of Corpus Christi late Friday evening, is expected to dump upwards to 40 inches of rain in Texas over the next couple of days. Joe Raedle/Getty Images/AFP
Hurricane Harvey Slams Into Texas Gulf Coast
ROCKPORT, TX - AUGUST 27: Robert Grant and Rocky from the Texas Task Force 2 search and rescue team work through a destroyed apartment complex trying to find anyone that still may be in the apartment complex after Hurricane Harvey passed through on August 27, 2017 in Rockport, Texas. Harvey made landfall shortly after 11 p.m. Friday, just north of Port Aransas as a Category 4 storm and is being reported as the strongest hurricane to hit the United States since Wilma in 2005. Forecasts call for as much as 30 inches of rain to fall in the next few days. Joe Raedle/Getty Images/AFP
US-WEATHER-STORM-HARVEY
A passerby tries to pickup a fallen McDonalds logo as the effects of Hurricane Harvey are seen August 26, 2017 in Galveston, Texas.
Hurricane Harvey left a deadly trail of devastation Saturday in Texas, as officials warned of "catastrophic" flooding and said that recovering from the most powerful storm to hit the United States in more than a decade could take years. / AFP PHOTO / Brendan Smialowski / ìThe erroneous mention[s] appearing in the metadata of this photo by Brendan Smialowski has been modified in AFP systems in the following manner: [Hurricane Harvey] instead of [Hurricane Henry]. Please immediately remove the erroneous mention[s] from all your online services and delete it from your servers. If you have been authorized by AFP to distribute it to third parties, please ensure that the same actions are carried out by them. Failure to promptly comply with these instructions will entail liability on your part for any continued or post notification usage. Therefore we thank you very much for all your attention and prompt action. We are sorry for the inconvenience this notification may cause and remain at your disposal for any further information you may require.î
Hurrican Harvey aftermath in Texas August 26, 2017.
People make their way down partially flooded roads following the passage of Hurricane Harvey on August 26, 2017 in Galveston, Texas. / AFP PHOTO / Brendan Smialowski
Hurricane Harvey aftermath in Texas
Celina Martinez returns to find their family home badly damaged after Hurricane Harvey hit Rockport, Texas on August 26, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / MARK RALSTON
Hurricane Harvey Slams Into Texas Gulf Coast
GALVESTON, TX - AUGUST 26: Wind and rain from Hurricane Harvey batter the shoreline on August 26, 2017 in Galveston, Texas. Harvey, which made landfall north of Corpus Christi late last night, is expected to dump upwards to 40 inches of rain in Texas over the next couple of days. Scott Olson/Getty Images/AFP
Hurricane Harvey threatens Texas, Louisiana
Strong winds batter seaside houses before the approaching Hurricane Harvey in Corpus Christi, Texas on August 25, 2017.
Hurricane Harvey will soon hit the Texas coast with forecasters saying it's possible for up to 3 feet of rain and 125 mph winds. / AFP PHOTO / MARK RALSTON
APTOPIX Harvey
A car is submerged on a freeway flooded by Tropical Storm Harvey on Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017, near downtown Houston, Texas. The remnants of Hurricane Harvey sent devastating floods pouring into Houston on Sunday as rising water chased thousands of people to rooftops or higher ground. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Hurricane Harvey Slams Into Texas Gulf Coast
ROCKPORT, TX - AUGUST 26: Terry Smith stands in the apartment that had its ceiling collapse when Hurricane Harvey hit on August 26, 2017 in Rockport, Texas. Ms. Smith said she has never been as terrified in her life as when the winds started roaring through town. Harvey made landfall shortly after 11 p.m. Friday, just north of Port Aransas as a Category 4 storm and is being reported as the strongest hurricane to hit the United States since Wilma in 2005. Forecasts call for as much as 30 inches of rain to fall by next Wednesday. Joe Raedle/Getty Images/AFP
Confirmed deaths from the storm include a married couple who drowned after their pickup truck was swept away while they were on the phone with a 911 dispatcher asking for help, officials said.
Others among the dead include a woman whose body was discovered floating in Beaumont, a man who stepped on a live electrical wire in floodwaters, and a woman who died after she and her young daughter were swept into a drainage canal in Beaumont. The child was rescued clinging to her dead mother, authorities said.
When Harvey paid its return visit to land overnight, it hit near Cameron, Louisiana, about 45 miles from Port Arthur.
Port Arthur found itself increasingly isolated as floodwaters swamped most major roads out of the city.
More than 500 people — along with dozens of dogs, cats, a lizard and a monkey — took shelter at the Max Bowl bowling alley in Port Arthur after firefighters popped the lock in the middle of the night, said the establishment’s general manager, Jeff Tolliver.
“The monkey was a little surprising, but we’re trying to help,” he said.
In Orange, Texas, about 30 miles east of Beaumont, residents of a retirement home surrounded by thigh-deep water were rescued by National Guardsmen and wildlife officers, who carried them from the second floor and put them aboard an airboat.
Harvey initially came ashore as a Category 4 hurricane in Texas on Friday, then went back out to sea and lingered off the coast as a tropical storm for days, inundating flood-prone Houston.
Harvey’s five straight days of rain totaled close to 52 inches, the heaviest tropical downpour ever recorded in the continental U.S.
Story by The Associated Press
Associated Press writers Frank Bajak, Matt Sedensky and Michael Graczyk in Houston; Diana Heidgerd and David Warren in Dallas; Seth Borenstein in Washington; Paul J. Weber in Austin, Texas; and Tammy Webber in Chicago contributed to this report.
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