Here’s The Latest On Hurricane Harvey And How Texas Are Dealing With The Damage
As flooding continues in Southeast Texas, four days since Hurricane Harvey made landfall, we are now seeing the devastation that it has left in its path. And the rain is supposed to continue until tomorrow. The Weather Channel reports that Harvey’s center is currently in the Gulf of Mexico, which means the hurricane is expected to hit the Louisiana coast tomorrow.
Initial reports of fatalities are currently at 14, including a family of six that died while trying to evacuate. The New York Daily News reports that Manuel Saldivar, 84, his wife Belia, 81; Daisy Saldivar, 6; Xavier Saldivar, 8; Dominic Saldivar, 14; Devy Saldivar, 16, were in a van attempting to leave Houston. The van was overcome with flood waters as it tried to cross the bridge
As rising waters continue to overtake various parts of Houston, officials in Brazoria County tweeted that residents had to leave the area quickly because the levee had been breached. NBC also reports that two Houston reservoirs have overflowed.
President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump arrived in Houston and are surveying the damage. But the First Lady is getting clowned for wearing heels and a “FLOTUS” hat on her trip.
The Mexican government has attempted to offer aid to victims of Hurricane Harvey, but Trump has yet to approve any of it.
The hashtag #HoustonStrong is showing us some truly emotional photos of people helping others in need, and is also capturing what exactly is happening in Texas.
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner also confirmed the death of 60-year-old police officer Steve Perez, who was trying to get to work and help. Police chief Art Acevedo was clearly shaken during a press conference:
Houston police chief describes the effort to save Sgt. Steve Perez, who died while trying to get to work in areas hits by Harvey pic.twitter.com/3pDdrYftUk
— BuzzFeed News (@BuzzFeedNews) August 29, 2017
This is just one visual of how much waters have risen in Houston.
Before and after #TexasFlood #HoustonStrong pic.twitter.com/rhq1ZadfEc
— Jack Dawkins (@JackDawkinsAD) August 28, 2017
Yesterday, the Mayor tweeted that undocumented people should not fear seeking help.
"If someone tries to deport you, I will represent you myself." Mayor @SylvesterTurner
Seek help regardless of your status #ABC13 #Hounews pic.twitter.com/l6wfFRxXaD
— ABC13 Antonio (@ABC13Antonio) August 28, 2017
“If you are in a stressful situation, I don’t care who you are, I don’t care what your religion is, I don’t care what your language is, you come and take advantage of every service that we have,” Turner said, according to The Hill. “If you’re in a stressful situation and you need help, you call us for help. We want you to call. There is absolutely no reason why anyone should not call okay?”
While a lot of the news has been dire, there have been some incredible people that have done whatever they can in order to help. The Houston Police gave a shout out to Taqueria Del Sol, which served food to patrol officers.
Thank you to Del Sol for generously feeding our Southwest Patrol officers (currently housed at Southeast station) #HoustonStrong pic.twitter.com/oad1K1BeZR
— Houston Police (@houstonpolice) August 29, 2017
In other parts of Houston, the Gonzales family used their boat to help several people evacuate.
The boat is full… the Gonzales family just rescued their 9th family of the day #KHOU11 #StandingforHouston pic.twitter.com/URfBbtdQZC
— Brett Buffington (@BrettKHOU) August 27, 2017
These panaderos were holed up in a bakery, so they made bread and gave it to those in need.
The bakers at El Bolillo got trapped for a few days & utilized their time to bake bread for flood victims ❤️ I love my city #HoustonStrong pic.twitter.com/SGqVAALWs0
— B (@YonksHTX) August 29, 2017
Gloria Maria Quintanilla didn’t let flooding stop her from getting to her job.
Just met Gloria Quintanilla. She's an immigrant frm El Salvador who spent more than an hr wading thru this to get to work at the Doubletree. pic.twitter.com/rwTeDVuupZ
— julieturkewitz (@julieturkewitz) August 27, 2017
“I worked at the hotel up there,” she said to a New York Times reporter, adding that she only makes $10 an hour. “It was my day to work, and I’m a very responsible person,” Quintanilla said, speaking in Spanish. “I had no idea it was going to be like this.”
READ: After Criticism, Border Patrol Announces It Will Close Immigration Checkpoints In Path Of Hurricane Harvey
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