(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Historic flooding from Tropical Storm Harvey killed at least seven people in Texas and was expected to drive 30,000 from their homes, as officials yesterday warned that floodwaters would likely rise in the coming days as the storm hovers over the US Gulf Coast.
Thousands of National Guard troops, police, rescue workers and civilians raced in helicopters, boats and special high-water trucks to rescue the hundreds of people still believed trapped in Houston, the nation's fourth-largest city.
The storm was the most powerful hurricane to strike Texas in more than 50 years when it came ashore on Friday near Corpus Christi, about 354km south of Houston.
It is believed to have killed at least six people in Harris County, where Houston is located, according to Tricia Bentley, a spokeswoman for the county coroner's office.
A 60-year-old woman died in neighbouring Montgomery County when a tree fell on her trailer home while she slept, the local medical examiner's letter said on Twitter.
More deaths were suspected in neighbouring counties.
As stunned families surveyed the wreckage of destroyed homes along the nearby coast and roads that were not flooded were clogged with debris, Texas Governor Greg Abbott warned Houstonians to brace for a long period of disruption.
'We need to recognise this is going to be a new and different normal for this entire region, Abbott told reporters after touring the damaged coastal city of Corpus Christi.
Harvey was expected to remain over Texas' Gulf Coast for the next few days, dropping another 10 inches to 20 inches (25-51 cm) of rain, with threats of flooding extending into neighbouring Louisiana.
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