Dallas preps 'mega-shelter' as Texas braces for more rain
Houston (CNN)Harvey is no longer a hurricane, but life-threatening flooding continued in and around Houston on Sunday night as citizens with boats assisted authorities in search and rescue efforts.
Flooding from Tropical Storm Harvey is overburdening resources in the country's fourth-largest city, prompting authorities to call on volunteers with watercraft for help in rescuing those trapped in homes and buildings.
An immediate respite from Harvey's wrath seems unlikely to come. The National Weather Service calls the flooding "unprecedented," and warns things may become more dire if a forecasted record-breaking 50 inches of rain does fall on parts of Texas in coming days. In anticipation of a worsening situation, Dallas is turning its main convention center into a "mega-shelter" that can host 5,000 evacuees.
The rainfall threatens to exacerbate an already dangerous situation, as Harvey's rains have left many east Texas rivers and bayous swollen to their banks or beyond.
"The breadth and intensity of this rainfall are beyond anything experienced before," the weather service said. "Catastrophic flooding is now underway and expected to continue for days."
The storm killed two people in Texas, authorities said, and the death toll will likely rise. More than 1,000 people were rescued overnight, and Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner warned that some 911 calls are going unanswered as operators "give preference to life-threatening calls."
News Courtesy: www.cnn.com
