A town hall grew heated after City Council member Greg Travis, who represents parts of western Houston, told about 250 people that an Army Corps of Engineers official told him that certain gauges measuring water levels at the Buffalo Bayou – the city’s main waterway – failed due to a decision to release water from two municipal reservoirs to avoid an overflow.

Travis’ words inflamed tensions at the town hall, held at the Westin Houston hotel, as the region struggled to recover from Hurricane Harvey, which dropped as much as 50 inches (127 cm) of rain in some areas along Texas’ Gulf Coast, triggering historic floods.

More than 450,000 people either still do not have safe drinking water or need to boil their water first.

On Aug. 28, the Army Corps and the Harris County Flood Control District opened the Addicks and Barker reservoirs in western Houston to keep them from overflowing. They warned it would flood neighborhoods, some of which remained closed off two weeks later.

Travis said the Army Corps official said they kept releasing water without knowing the extent of the flooding. “They didn’t understand that the bathtub effect was occurring,” he said.

Residents attempting to return to flooded homes may have to contend with contaminated water and air because the city’s sewer systems overflowed during the floods. Fire chief Samuel Pena said people returning home should wear breathing masks and consider getting tetanus shots.

“We couldn’t survive the Corps – why should we rebuild?” Debora Kumbalek, who lives in Travis’ district in Houston, shouted during the town hall.

Scattered heaps of discarded appliances, wallboard and mattresses can be still seen throughout the city of 2.7 million people, the nation’s fourth-largest.

There were no representatives from the Army Corps at the town hall. An official from the Army Corps could not immediately comment. An official from the Harris County Flood Control District did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Corps released water at an intended maximum rate of 13,000 cubic feet (370 cubic meters) per second to keep those reservoirs from overflowing. However, preliminary data from the U.S. Geological Survey suggests that on at least two days, the average release rate exceeded that 13,000 level.

Many residents face lengthy rebuilding processes, and the majority do not have flood insurance. The Federal Emergency Management Administration will contribute a maximum of $33,000 per home in assistance to cover damages, a FEMA official said at the town hall, though for heavily flooded homes, damages will likely exceed that amount.

Fire chief Pena said homes may also be occupied by alligators, rodents and snakes due to the floods.

A total of 52 of the state’s public drinking water systems were still damaged, inoperable or destroyed, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, leaving 70,000 people without water. Another 380,000 people need to boil their water.

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Source: Reuters

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During heavy rainfall from Hurricane Harvey, the Arkema plant at Crosby lost refrigeration of chemical compounds which need to be kept cool, and there is no way to prevent a possible fire, the company said.

At least 33 people have been killed in the aftermath of the storm.

US energy supplies have also been hit, as oil companies shut down pipelines.

The US National Weather Service downgraded the former hurricane to a tropical depression but has forecast continuing heavy rainfall over eastern Texas and western Louisiana.

What happened at the chemical plant?

The Arkema chemical plant shut down its production on Friday, before the storm made landfall.

But 40in (102cm) of rainfall in the area flooded the site and cut off its power, the company said in a statement. Backup generators were also flooded.

The facility manufactures organic peroxides, and chemicals stored on site can become dangerous at higher temperatures.

“Any fire will probably resemble a large gasoline fire,” CEO Richard Rowe told Reuters news agency. “The fire will be explosive and intense.”

He said the black smoke produced would irritate skin, eyes and lungs.

“The high water that exists on site, and the lack of power, leave us with no way to prevent it.”

The fire is expected to be mostly contained to the site itself but residents of Harris County have been evacuated in a 1.5 mile (2.4 km) radius around the plant as a precaution.

The last remaining workers at the site were evacuated on Tuesday.

How are rescue efforts progressing?

Parts of Texas have been hit by more than 50in of rainfall since Hurricane Harvey landed, setting new records before it was downgraded to a tropical storm and, late on Wednesday, to a tropical depression.

Rescue efforts continued overnight. Thousands of people have been rescued from floodwater throughout the state, and more than 32,000 people are still in emergency shelters.

Houston, the fourth most populous city in the US, was badly hit, and large parts remain underwater.

The city is also a key energy hub. The storm and its subsequent flooding has knocked out about a quarter of the country’s refining capacity, sending petrol prices to a two-year high.

Port Arthur, about 80 miles east of Houston, was also severely flooded. Mayor Derrick Freeman, posting on Facebook, said the entire city was underwater, and appealed for anyone who owned a boat to help.

Details of some of the deaths in Texas have emerged:

• In Beaumont, north-west of Port Arthur, rescue teams saved an 18-month old girl found clinging to her dead mother in the floodwaters

• In Harris County, a family of six – two great-grandparents and four children – drowned while trying to flee the floods in a van

• A married couple drowned when their truck was swept away while they were on the phone to emergency services asking for help, the Associated Press reports

On Tuesday, Houston implemented a curfew in a bid to prevent looting of abandoned homes. Port Arthur followed suit Wednesday.

• Child found clinging to dead mum in storm
• In maps: Houston and Texas flooding
• What is it like to be in Houston?

An additional 10,000 members of the National Guard were said to be on their way to Texas to join the rescue efforts, adding to the 14,000 already deployed.

Harvey was the most powerful hurricane to hit Texas in more than 50 years when it first made landfall at Corpus Christi, 220 miles south-west of Houston, late on Friday.

At a press conference Wednesday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott said the state could need more than $125bn (£97bn) from the federal government to help its recovery.

And he warned “the worst is not yet over”, as flooding was expected to continue for several days.

Meanwhile, the tropical depression is now moving north-north-east, the US National Weather Service said.

Heavy rainfall is expected from Louisiana to Kentucky over the next three days, and flood warnings remain in effect for south-east Texas and parts of south-west Louisiana.

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Source: BBC

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