Hurricane Harvey Hits Louisiana, Death Toll Rises

Amanda Casanova | ChristianHeadlines.com Contributor | Updated: Aug 30, 2017

Hurricane Harvey Hits Louisiana, Death Toll Rises

Hurricane Harvey— now downgraded to Tropical Storm Harvey— made landfall again Wednesday at the Texas-Louisiana border, bringing more rain after already flooding the city of Houston.

At least 17 people have been killed because of the storm, and damage is estimated to be in the tens of billions of dollars, according to reports.

Harvey’s second landfall was expected to drop another 3 to 6 inches of rain and then weaken as it moves inland, the National Hurricane Center said.

"We aren't going to be dealing with it for too much longer. It's going to pick up the pace and get out of here," said Donald Jones, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Lake Charles, Louisiana.

For now, in its second landfall on Wednesday, Harvey deluged the city of Port Arthur.

"Our whole city is underwater right now but we are coming!" Port Arthur Mayor Derrick Freeman posted Wednesday morning on Facebook. "If you called, we are coming. Please get to higher ground if you can, but please try (to) stay out of attics."

Both Port Arthur and nearby city Beaumont received some 26 inches of rain in 24 hours with rain still falling.

In its wake, Harvey damaged some 50,000 homes in Houston and forced about 19,000 people into shelters.

Moody’s Analytics has estimated the cost from Harvey for southeast Texas to be at $51 billion to $75 billion. Meanwhile, Hurricane Katrina caused about $108 billion in damage.

U.S. Coast Guard air units and boats have rescued more than 4,000 people and thousands more have been rescued by volunteers and police and rescue workers.

It's unknown how many people still need to be rescued, Texas Military Department spokesman Lt. Col. Travis Walters said.

President Donald Trump also visited Texas on Tuesday to survey the damage.

"We won't say congratulations," he said. "We don't want to do that...We'll congratulate each other when it's all finished."

Reports say that nearly 52 inches of rain fell from Hurricane Harvey— a record for any storm in the continental U.S.

 

Photo: 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. Harvey, which made landfall north of Corpus Christi August 25, has dumped nearly 50 inches of rain in and around Houston.

Photo courtesy: Scott Olson/Getty Images

Publication date: August 30, 2017



Hurricane Harvey Hits Louisiana, Death Toll Rises