The rain is expected to continue into the middle of the week, and some parts of texas could get nearly four feet. Overnight, floodwaters rose quickly in houston americas fourth largest city. More than sixmillion people live in the area. More than a thousand have had to be rescued as parts of houston have been hit with more than 20 inches of rain. Coast guard officials are urging people in danger to get to the roofs of their homes and wave sheets or towels so rescue crews in helicopters can see them. Quijano Demarco Morgan is about 30 miles south of houston in dickinson, texas, with a situation there. Demarco . Elaine and kris teen, you hae people who are rescuing friends and residents in their personal boats. People who are trying to be good samaritans. This is a sanitation truck here. Not sure what they are up to but this is some of the equipment we have been witnessing coming through along with the coast guard. If you pan to the boat there, this is another rescue. They have been bringing them closer to the bridge because were, of course, on Higher Ground. A number of people who have had to be rescued. If you look on the other side of the title max title loans, we are hearing an elderly couple stuck in the at tick. We talked to the son of the couple still on the bridge with us did not want to go on camera. Apparently they are stuck in the at tick because their home is completely filled with water. Their cell phone has died as a result because they dont have any electricity to power the cell phone and keep it going. Norm, can you get the coast guard helicopter . The coast guard has made a number of successful rescues but cant do it alone. We have a number of complete strangers doing the best they can. Just look at this boat coming down the street. This is an air boat that has been taking part in a number of these rescues. You also have people trapped inside some of these buildings as well. Theres a Kroger Grocery store, one of the places people ran to to get dry shelter, and we are told they are at the back to have the store because the store is filling with water. Sorry for all this equipment here, but were on a bridge. Im just going to show you how, if you look to my right right here, you can see that it is almost impassable. We have a number of cars stuck on the side there. This is where we were trying to cross to the bridge to try to get to houston. Now look at this. This is to our left. You look to our left. It is completely covered in water. Weve had emergency vehicles who are keeping people away from going through that area, and you see this charter bus right here. It is now starting to load people who were rescued. We had a truck full of people who had to be rescued by boat. They are now getting on this charter bus and its going to stay there, we hear, just to keep them dry. There was a 90yearold woman, i think you can possibly see her. Looks like, yeah, shes getting on the bus right now. She had to sit in my vehicle and were told she just celebrated a birthday yesterday. We had a boatful of six or seven kids who had to be rescued because the family they were with, they were underneath the bridge. Thats one thing people do when a storm is coming, they choose to go under a bridge for safety. Thats never a good thing especially when you talk about a flood. Were in the town of dickinson about 30 miles east of houston. You see these boat rescues taking place right now . This boat looks like it is actually full of people here. People have been going by. Some of the folks who had to be rescued giving thumbs up, waving, very grateful for the people who have been helping them as well. Before we go back to the boat, look at the current. See how strong it is . See the do not enter sign . That is the current. See how fast its moving . This is very dangerous. Weve actually had to tell people do not go down there and get in the water. People have been trying to get in the water to check on their homes. If we can zoom in closer to this boat here full of people. Looks like they had to be rescued as well. You have small children. Weve even seen dogs, elaine and kristine. Weve seen dogs that have to be rescued with their family members as well. They are excited and happy to be safe. A little boy is waving. Were happy for them as well. But we still have a lot of people who are unaccounted for in this area. Again, that coast guard helicopter is at a standstill, hovering over some area, usually when its hovering, usually means a rescue is underway. Lets see if we can show them the other side of the bridge which is also pretty bad. Looks like dickinson, most of the city is pretty much underwater right here. You can see on the side of the taco bell this bus is about to come through this is the bus here that has a number of the folks whove had to be rescued. Im sure theyre going to try to make it through that water. But if you see right here where theyre crossing the barriers, look at that. Most of those cars, you have cars in the middle of the road just stuck, mostly covered, completely submerged in water here. A number of restaurants, a number of businesses, but there are also full neighborhoods and subdivisions with homes also covered in water. Again we talked about the boat that had six or seven kids on it. We also had to give some of our towels away just to get those babies dry. Its sort of like a collaborative effort where everybody is sort of on thi bridge, trying to help everyone they possibly can. Just look at this dog, this family with the dog, and people are standing by on the bridge because they cant go anywhere as well. We knew that as soon as we crossed this little section on 45, again at 517, that it would be impossible for us to get to houston, so we knew we would be stuck here. Again, authorities are telling people, if you dont have to get out in this mess, whatever you do, listen to them, dont do it. People are still trying to do it, still trying to get out, still trying to check on their homes. Leave your home. You can also get another house. You cant get another life. Heres another rescue boat. Weve seen firefighters out here as well. This looks like Law Enforcement here with this boat. You see this guy pretty much trying to walk it which is something id never suggest because some of these signs are completely covered as well. Look at that. That looks like a boat full of people being rescued. Weve had weve actually heard people yelling for help. Those folks have been able to be rescued. Weve seen people yelling. We actually had a relative, a grandfather and grandmother show up because their grand baby and daughter was underneath the bridge. They got here just in time. They tried to go under the bridge themselves. We advised them not to do that. Somehow we had strangers able to get the 2yearold and childs mother to get to safety. We have a chance to talk to them as well. So you have a lot of good stories coming out of this tragedy, but you also have a large number of people who are unaccounted for. As far as the eye can see, guys, you can see this street here which is 517, those who are familiar with dickinson here, 517 as far as it goes back, it just looks like a river, almost like a lake here just building, trying to peek out at the top. Again, we are keeping our eye on the situation. We have Television Crews trying to get the best shots, but also in the area and the line of danger as well. So youve also got to think about your own safety while covering this story and trying to bring the information to you. As soon as we get more information, well give it to you guys. Reporter Demarco Morgan in dickinson, texas. Incredible images out of that community. Lets turn to another area in texas, bellaire, texas, where our jamie y ucas is standing by. Its coming down at an inch an hour. They have gotten 15 inches. Theyre expecting another 10 inches of rain today and could max out at 50 inches, and that wont happen, were told, till wednesday. You can see where im standing now. Im on an elevated sidewalk in a business area. I want to walk towards the roadway. In a few minutes, you will see what im talking about as to how high the water is. As im walking off the sidewalk up into the street, its up to my knees. If my photographer scott can pan over, we have a rescue humvee coming through asking people on the roadway if they need help. You can see the rescue crews are going up and down the streets. Its like a river. The water goes above my knee. They have been going up and down the signed streets off the freeway to see if people need help. Thats because weve seen a number of people walking down the street. My producer said the water got up to her chest at some parts on here. The car tried to come off the freeway. It came down, things got very hairy. Tried to jump the curve. Talked to the driver. Hit the metal spike in the middle. Didnt see it because it was under water at the time. They are now stuck. We have been told they can wait a very long time for crews to come get them. Weve seen so many cars try to get through these flooded side streets because its so hard to get through this area right now and the biggest problem is, i dont know if you can pan over for just a minute scott, but the freeway, you dont see cars driving on there now, right, because there are so many spots on 610 shut down because the water is simply too high. 610 you may have heard of that because its a beltway around the city city. Theres a large circular area where people are trying to get around the city of houston. So many places are underwater, theyre having to tell people to turn around. It took some of us two hours to get here where it would normally take 15, 20 minutes because we had to keep turning around, finding a side street, finding something that wasnt flooded to try to get to this spot and thats what a number of people are encountering. Right here were in a business area and there are homes and businesses in this particular area, a mall further down from the neighborhood. About two hundred tomes and businesses dont have power. A lot of people working last night had to shelter in place because as rine started falling, it came so quickly they couldnt get out of their locations and had to sleep overnight and a number of these businesses were parked at a gas station that still has gas in the area and people are driving in here just to try to fuel up and see where they can get to. Of course, the warning is to stay put, you can see how fast the water is rising. An inch an hour falling right now in terms of rainfall, and its not going to quit meteorologist gists say till possibly wednesday. Quijano we see the deluge there as the water continues to pour town. Youre 10 miles southwest of houston. Lets go to houston itself where Mark Strassmann has been covering the aftermath, the continuing crisis situation in houston where nearly every major road is closed because of the flooding. Mark, tell us what youre seeing there. Reporter elaine, a section of i 45, a major highway that runs through downtown houston. We have flash flooding here. The roads are impassable. To the left, you will see a line of semis and cars waiting because they know better than to try to go through this water. They dont like it, theyre impatient and like everyone else they want to get to where theyre going. Theyre doing the right thing. This is what happens when you do the wrong thing. About 40 yards from where i am, a little debris left. We have video to show you. At this spot, underneath the water is a pickup truck. A driver in this white pickup truck decided he wanted to barrel through the water and get across to the other side. You can guess what happened next. Right away a lot of trouble. People said get out of the truck and finally people shouting, con convincing him to get out of the truck. Even then he kept trying to go back to the truck probably to try to salvage something that was inside that he thought h needed. Lets face it, this isnt worth it no matter what. At that point youve made a mistake, lost the truck, let it go, save your life, not the truck. Finally, he swam away and last time i saw him about 15 minutes ago, he was using an umbrella to hook his debris out of the water and trying to salvage whatever he could. That is clearly the wrong way to go about this. There are a number of people in the city who have been greatly inconvenienced and even scared and threatened by this water. One measure of how a life has changed here is there is an enormous backlog of phone calls to the 911 emergency centers. The message from officials, if youre in a neighborhood with a couple of inches of water, it takes more than that to get emergency people to save you. It is one measure of how life has changed that, like these waters, the standard for what constitutes an emergency keeps rising in this city. Also for folks who have no other place to go, the city just opened up the george r. Brown Convention Center in downtown houston, so the site of the 1988 Republican National convention is now housing of last resort for flood victims who have no other place to go. Again, the message is stay inside, find high ground and stay if you can. If it really is an emergency, they have a shelter downtown but its going to be very difficult for many folks to get into downtown because so many roads like this are impassable and they wont be able to get there. Elaine. Quijano the video of the pickup is dramatic and a reminder of how dangers these areas can be. I wonder, mark, have you had a chance to talk to some of those folks who are in those vehicles just behind you or folks who are attempting to make their way on the roads. What is their plan . Where is it they intend to go . There was another white pickup truck elaine and the guy came out of the truck, said how deep is it . They were going to make the same mistake the guy in the video you saw just made. I said that water is 10, 12 feet deal. He said, really . I said, there is a pickup underwater you cant see. That convinced him to head back the other way. There really is no excuse at this point for any of these cars to go through here. If anybody saw the video, not a mistake theyd want to make. That guy is lucky to be alive. A truck started to sink and a man started to climb back into his truck to salvage something he really wanted. He wanted people to understand life has changed in houston and will continue to change for the next three or four days. This isnt going to get better till mid week, this is going to get worse. Mark strassmann in the city of houston that continues to be under the threat of catastrophic flooding. Mark, thank you. The Coastal Community of rockport was one of several to take a direct hit from harvey friday night. David begnaud shows us the devastation. Reporter rockport took it on the nose, a direct hit to this Coastal Community of roughly 10,000 people. Youve gotten one home that has fallen into the water, boats started to sink, people who wanted to ride out the storm on their boat, one man got wise before the storm made landfall and got out. The eye of the hurricane was 10 miles wide at one point. So the people who were here say they got three hours of what seemed like a living hell. Then an hour of a lull, and then three more hours of rocking and rolling. In the historic part of town, buildings flattened. One death reported but not actually in the town of rockport. Behind me is the marina with boats. Behind me an apartment complex thats flat. Its like somebody swatted the town and did damage everywhere. There hasnt been such rain in the last few hours, and thats a relief. Rockport is on the gulf. Right now there is very little cell reception in rockport, and there is no fuel. Trying to get in is nearly impossible and trying to get out is equally tough. Police officers are trying to go door to door making sure nobody are left behind. The same officers doing door to door surveys are riding around in vehicles with windows busted out because just about every patrol car in town was damaged by the hurricane that made a direct hit on this gulf of of coast town. Reporter bringing in scott padgett, chief meteorologist in our station in dallasfort worth. What is the latest . Max winds of 40 miles per hour. Thats latest update from the National Hurricane center. Look at this forward movement, southsoutheast at 2 miles per hour, meandering all morning long and will continue to do so as you take a look over the last 12 hours. Just seeing it meander over 3 miles but the feeder bands have been staying over houston as weve gone through the morning even last night and looking through the last four hours continue to see more feeder bands pushing over houston, dropping a tremendous amount of rain and seeing southwest sides of louisiana seeing a lot of the flooding rain. The other threat, tornadoes. Look at the Tornado Warnings for Harris County, including the houston area, until about 11 15 central time. The concern is as meteorologists, we tell you to get to the lowest level of your home when you have a Tornado Warning. A lot cant do that because its flooding out. If thats whats happening if youre in the Tornado Warning area, the lowest level, get in a bathroobathroom or abinterior hl weavment flooding and tornado concerns in the morning and afternoon. Estimated 48hour rainfall, you can see as much as 20 to 24 inches of rain including the houston area down to near gavels. So were adding to the totals. You can see forest oaks 22 inches, South Houston 21 inches, friends wood about 22 inches, near clear creek about 19 inches and were not done as we go through today, tomorrow, even as we go through probably the mid week, were going to add an additional potential of 22 inches of rain in houston to near 15 of gavels as harvey will slowly drift to the north. You saw the latest track. Take a look, what has changed with harvey is right now the National Hurricane Center Remains as a Tropical Storm sunday, tonight and then possibly out in the open water, if that happens, i wouldnt be surprised to see strengthening, but the latest package keeps harvey at a Tropical Storm at least till tuesday and then center of circulation to the north and northeast texas as a tropical depression. It will continue to rain in the next two to three days adding to the flooding concerns. Elaine . Scott padgett, chief meteorologist at our station in dallasfort worth. Omar villafranca, we see the floding is as apparent there as with mark. Absolutely, i lane and christine. Were outside the river oaks area, and there are multimilliondollar homes inside of that neighborhood and right now they are starting to see a lot of water on their streets. I talked to run resident who said this reminds him of hurricane allison. Were also seeing this gentleman here in a vehicle outhere joy riding. This is something the police and the sheriff do not want people doing, but this guy thinks hes got a tall enough vehicle and that he can do it. But right now the water has been going here for hours, for days here and it is steadily going up. Something we want to show you here. Not only the water you have to watch out for as we kind of make our way across here. You may see that. Looks like debris. Thats actually a small island of fire ants. So there are people Walking Around here just trying to take pictures. They have to watch out for things like that. There is also plenty of snakes weve seen in the area so people have to be careful. This is a park that, during any other time here in houston would be busy. People would be running. They would be out there having a good time, working on their fitness. Right now it is completely under water. This area, were probably standing maybe in a foot, foot and a half of water and it is steadily going up. We were near i10 which is not too far from where we are at our location here. I10, you would basically need a boat to get on i10. I10 will take you to san antonio, other direction, it will take you to los angeles, but you cant get 10 feet because its under a foot and a half to 2 feet of water. It is steadily flowing down here and there is still people who are out here kind of going around like this gentleman here coming around on his bicycle. People going around to see this type of flooding. Houstonians are used to seeing water, but like this . This is something that a lot of them are dumbfounded about. They are actually telling me, i had to come and see it with my own eyes. We havent seen that many vehicles on the road, just Emergency Responders but there are a lot of people out Walking Around and that is something that Law Enforcement and First Responders are saying stay home, stay off the road, avoid becoming a stix by coming out here. Interesting note, not only things in the water and the water rising, we got a buzz on our phone a few minutes ago, there was a Tornado Warning in this particular area, as those bands come ripping through, of course, they create a swirl and there was something on the radar that made it look like it could have been a tornado so this area was tornado warned just a few minutes ago. Right now we saw that that warning has gone away. But this is something houstonians will be dealing with for the next few days. Cleanup weeks, maybe months. Elaine, kristine . All those threats as a result of this Tropical Storm. Are they talking about shelters in that area . There will be rescues here the next few hours, over the next few days as the flood waters start to rise. Are they worried about shelters becoming too overflowed . At this point, were not sure. There are a lot of people who are staying home but, as you mentioned, as the flood waters rise, theyre making contingency plans. A lot of people who left earl yi, a lot went to san antonio, at last check there were roughly 1100 people sent to san antonio and there as evacuees there. Thats going to create space here in houston for the people who are going to need it because, mind you, its one thing to run away from a hurricane but now the flooding is starting and thats something the city and county leaders are dealing with in the next few hours. You mentioned residents in houston are used to flooding but not flooding like. This what was the guidance . Was there a mandatory Evacuation Order . What were people in houston told about this storm as it approached . There was no mandatory Evacuation Order but people naturally and listen, there are hurricane routes here that people know, you know, okay, if i need to go, this is the Higher Ground and where we go. Some people on their own would go to san antonio, take 45 and go to dallas just on their own. For the people who didnt have the means, they could evacuate and go to san antonio where there was some evacuation shelters set up over there. But houstonians are used to hurricanes, but this is going to be a little bit different. Like i said, there was one gentleman who told me this reminds him of hurricane allison and the amount of water that allison brought. It hit south of here, but houston right now is taking the budget of the water and, based on the forecast, could be for the next three to four days. So this is really going to test not only the resources but the ability of First Responders to get to people out here in the greater houston area, and, mind you, this is, what, the fourth largest metro area in the country . This place is monstrous. Compared to other cities, it is very spread out. This is, unlike new york, where things are very maybe compact, you can look as far as you can see and its still the city of houston proper. It is a monstrous city in square footage. So there is a lot of ground to cover for First Responders, theyre hoping people do not put themselves in harms way. Stay home. Hopefully, they have the supplies and the supplies they need to hunker down as this storm goes through and keeps raining, and theyre hoping its not as bad and hopefully it tapers off. But that right there is up to the weather gods. Yeah, well keep our fingers crossed for certain. Omar villafranca reporting for us in houston. Omar, thank you. Lets go back to Demarco Morgan in the houston suburb of dickinson, texas. He was on top of a bridge. Well get an update from him. Demarco . Kristine, again, this area is completely covered in water as well. Highway 45 at 517. A number of people being rescued. Behind a tree, looks like some people are being rescued by a boat. A boat cap sized and broke in half, trying to rescue someone, you can see a piece of it. Im also getting tweets. This is d. Calloway who says in dickinson, her grandson is here, a wife 30 weeks pregnant, three young boys and an elerly person. Theyre saying still needing rescued and are trying to call authorities. If you know them, please reach out to them and help that family. You see this area. Lets talk to a family that was rescued not long ago guys. Thank you so much, were glad yure safe. Where are you coming from and what happened . We were in the neighborhood by chantilly and all the homes are flooded. We had to go upstairs, and they came by, by boat, and we flagged them and they picked us up and brought us to the church. When did you realize you needed to leave . Last night. It started flooding 10 00 last night and still doing it. You listened to authorities. Did authorities try to fell you guys to get out . I know there wasnt a mandatory evacuation for this area, was it . No, not at all. Do you know the people who rescued you . Strangers or neighbors. He had a boat, and he was going up and down the streets, picking up everybody. And tell us about your house. Describe your house, was it full of water . Where were you guys . We have a twostory home and, on the first floor, its up to here, and all the furniture is just floating. Everything. Mattresses, all. Yeah. So i can see you are shaking. Im sure youre cold and freezing out here. How is everything going . Of course, its not looking good but you guys have life. Thats important. Yes, thank you. Is everything okay . Yeah, im just freezing. I know, it is cold out here. I wish i could give you my jacket as well. Again, talk about this area. Were told the last time Something Like this happened was in 1979. Were you here . No, we have been here 23, and weve never had this, even during ike, nothing like this. Reporter are there still people in your neighborhood that need to be rescued . Most likely, definitely. Reporter were you seeing some of the rescues . What was it like . Not a lot was getting done, but they were trying really hard. Some on the roof, some helicopters picking up. They were even busting holes in the roof to get on the roof. So yeah, we were trying to flag down the choppers and stuff in the back of our tailgate, but nothing. Well, its a good thing that you guys are okay and i see you have your puppies as well with you. Yeah. Reporter we were able to get this gentleman a pancho. Glad youre able to stay cool. Hes all right now. We want to make sure we show the people we are helping out here. When youre covering a story, you have to remember youre human and this could happen to us as well, we could be in their shoes. The coast guard helicopter, weve seen a number in the area. They are making rescues. Whenever you see them hover over a specific area, that means a rescue is underway. If you pan down here, looks like a police boat going through and making rescues, theres a c. V. S. Not far. We see people walking out and getting people on a boat. A man is getting in a better area to save folks. This current is getting worse by the hour. By this do not enter sign, you can tell its pretty fast but you can see this action with these boats. These air boats and smaller boats helping people get to safety. That is a major concern. This is actually a safe point for us, were on this bridge. So people theyre rescuing, theyre actually bringing them to this bridge were standing on with a truck. You can see that family right there in the back, and we talked about this as well. We have been trying to keep in touch with this young man whop said his parents, he has elderly parents that are on the other side of this title max title loans, theyre in a home stuck in an at tick and their cell phone isnt working anymore. They had to go up to the at tick because the crib is pretty much full of water, their home is full of water. The bridge were standing on again is 45. If you look to my right, its barely passible here. You can still pass it but you still have to be in, like, vehicles that are elevated a little higher here. This is a woman here who looks like she had to be rescued. Has plants and her puppies here. You guys have to be rescued . Did you have to be rescued today . All these animals. Reporter wow, tell us all what happened. Flooded. Water started coming in the house about 2 00. Reporter 2 00 in the morning. And it just went yes and it just went, and made a mess. Reporter and this was all you were able to salvage and keep . Yeah is that how long have you been living here . Someone said the last time they saw Something Like this was 1979. I lived here for two months. Reporter where were you moving from . Baytown. Reporter who had to help you get here . There was a gentleman came up in a boat, and his neighbor of his, and they loaded us up in the boat, brought us to the Lighthouse Baptist church, we stayed under an awning where it was nice and dry. At least it wasnt raining on us anymore, but nothings been dry since 2 00 a. M. This morning. Reporter and is your house completely destroyed . Is it gone . Yes. Reporter youre grateful to have your life . Yeah. Reporter all right, thank you so much. We appreciate it. Thank you for talking to us. Real quick, before we go again, were on a bridge. Were actually all stuck as well. This part, you can pass again if you have a bigger truck, but if you look to my left, actually behind us, norm, that area is completely underwater and authorities are keeping people away from there. Sending it back to you elaine and kristine. Quijano Demarco Morgan in dickinson, texas, where there is an active search and rescue Mission Underway at this hour. Lets go to jericka duncan, among our correspondents who made their way into the houston area, joins us from i 45 north of houstons city center. Jericka, what does it look like from where you are. It looks like a river. Were on a highway but you cant tell were not standing in a river. 14feet, 6 inches there is a sign, this is at least half of that. We had to go through areas that were quite scary, to be honest with you, but never have we seen anything like this, as you get closer and closer to the city. What were seeing are cars abandoned and engulfed with water, folks having to pull to the side and making sure theyre staying elevated because even though side streets in the neighborhoods near 45 are also flooded, so no one is able to go anywhere, and police have literally stopped traffic. Aside from having those blockades, they are there and telling you, you cannot go through, because its just too dangerous, and weve seen a few people come down with their suvs thinking they might make it through. They probably get right about here. Maybe five to ten feet in front of where im standing and they quickly realize their vehicle is not going to make it through here and neither is ours which is why were standing here and we are having technical issues and doing this through an iphone. I want to walk. Im not going to say much because you probably wont hear me because you have to be close to the phone so you can hear me. I just want to walk so you can see how deep the water is. Okay . If i were to go out further, the water would easily be unhere. So, again, this is why police are telling people they cannot even attempt to go through this area because no one is going to get through here safely. So were standing by. Were seeing people coming out, taking pictures. No one has been in a position really where theyre asking for help. Weve seen abandoned vehicles, which leads us to believe those folks have already left, but it is crazy out here, and the rain continues and, again, as you heard omar say, the forecast is saying it continues another three or four days. North of Houston City Center along i 45 where the water continues to rise at a fast rate there. Jericka, thank you so much. Stay safe. Ghost guard officials are updating the situation in southeast texas. Lets listen in. He this is going to be a prolonged weather event for those in this region. This is an all hands on deck. We are conducting our operations with our local, state, Emergency Operation centers and our federal partners in this response, so the coast guard is bringing crews from all over the nation to help with our response efforts. We currently have eight coast guard h. 865 helicopters and three flood Response Teams conducting rescue operations. Weve called on Additional Resources from customs and border protection. The department of defense and Air National Guard to provide Additional Air assets. We are bringing an additional 11 coast guard helicopters from across the country to assist in the rescue operations. Weve already rescued more than 100 people from the air but received well over 500 phone calls for assistance or people in distress. We are conducting active searches and rescue missions at this time. The current survivors are being transported to texas Air National Guard in ellington and working with us to shuttle the survivors to here at the coast guard sector, houstongavels, houstongalveston, and were working with the Emergency Operation center to provide transportation to local shelters. I reiterate this is a dangerous and lifethreatening event so heed all local Weather Service and local safety messages and with that well take questions. You talked about the priorities of setting up who gets help, elderly and children. Its important if someone has a medical condition, you can make sure you have hat knowledge before going as well thats right, were taking that information as well and ask you provide us that information. When we come here, we do a triage when the survivors are brought in as an ai Air National Guard, well triage and make sure they get the medical assistance they need. Because some may have to come to the roof and you have to do an airlift, if you have someone whos wheelchair bound, whats being done to go in the house . We have baskets and if the person isnt ambulatory we can put them on that and bring them pack to ellington. Were taking a few to hospitals already. Everything from broken hips to people who cant breathe due to asthma. Depends on the severity. Rerescueers are e. M. T. Certified and will make the assessment and well determine the location after that. Over 100 individuals . Have been hoisted. Weve brought over 75 to ellington field. Im sure you guys have battled storms in the past. Where does this one rank so far . This is obviously an historic storm. Time will tell on how historic it actually is. Obviously, we want to encourage people to remain safe, communicate, call 911 if the theyre in distress, and everybody be safe. The rain could last through thursday. What are you guys doing to keep prepared so that we you can still help save the people . On the aviation side were brig more assets we can have more than 18 coast guard helicopters on site, two dozen air crews coming in and a couple dozen containers to work on the aircraft and turn them around. Were working with the partners to get enough fuel to sustain us through that period and continue the rescue as long as needed. Colonel, can we get you to talk about the texas Air National Guard . Colonel jones, Wing Commander for the 147th attack wing, we are partnering with the coast guard and the rest of the Texas Military forces, but the guard is here to support, obviously, the event thats going on, and its texans helping texans is whats happening now. Well continue to partner. The concern for us is the air operations, we want to make sure we can get aircraft in and out of the airfield which is very difficult. Bigger planes, as well as helicopters, c130s bringing supplies and eventually medical evacuation. Well continue to partner, tell everyone this office is not over a long way from being finished, but we appreciate their fatious and their patience and will do everything we can to help the citizens of texas. If someones watching this and they know their loved one is trapped, what message you have been listening to the members to have the u. S. Coast guard updating reporters on the situation in and around the houston area. They say theyve had over 500 phone calls for help, over 100 people rescued so far and also getting crews from all over the nation to help in these rescues. Jamie yucas is south of houston in a town called bellaire and the rain is really coming down. Right before the press conference a short time ago, the water was below my knee, now its above my knee. Im handing in a side street in bellaire, 10 miles southwest of the city of houston. This gets deeper as it goes down. You can see the speed limit sign, you get an idea of how deep the water can get. Its about cut in half. If i walk to where the businesses are located, there are no official sidewalks to step up, youre just right in the business area here and you have people getting through a small area, able to snake their way through apartment buildings and other parking lots and come along here to avoid the water. Theyre all trying to get to the freeway to get out of town. Guess what . Once you get to the freeway, so many places are blocked. You can see people are walking through our live shot right now. They were able to stock up at a gas station nearby with supplies. How you guys doing . This is what im talking about. These cars are trying to make their way through the parking lot trying to get to the freeway. This is whats happening now. Theyre trying to get to this intersection and now trying to get on 610 we is the inner loop around the city city. The problem is once you get on the freeway, there are a number of Police Officers who are turning people around. So there are people who are stuck, people who keep getting turned around. Its taking several hours just to go a few miles if tha at all. Theyre asking people to stay at home. I can tell you when we got here a few hours ago. The water is going over the median and creeping towards the homes. Further down, homes are flooded, apartment buildings, people are parking cars on fifth and sixth floor parking gray garages to try to get cars out of harms way. We know people in these businesses last night, they said, trying to get home, they couldnt make it, they had to turn around, and they hunkered down and slept here. Theyre now trying to find a ride home. But as you can see, this water is just rising so quickly. When we talked to city officials, sounds like, here in bellaire, water is falling down at about an inch an hour. Theyve gotten at least 15 inches of rain so far, so more than a foot since the storm started. Supposed to get more today. Since standing out here, weve gotten at least a couple more with how far the water is coming up. We were in a parking lot completely dry and im watching my photographers feet getting wet. As i toss it back to you in the studio, thats situation out here. People being asked to stay at home and not get on the roadways especially around the city of houston. Conditions getting worse in bellaire texas where we have jamie reporting for us. Scott padgett, ktvt meteorologist in fort worth. What is the latest youre seeing . From the latest, this is getting worse. Were continuing to see the feeder bands pulling into houston. You notice the center of circulation to the south and west. Over the last four hours, we continue to see the really warm gulf waters feeding this system, continuing to pull this tropical moisture right up over houston to near gavels near galveston. So these are the feeder bands. As i zoom in, not noticing any Tornado Warnings, but thats going to be the potential going through the remainder of the morning and into the afternoon. Houston right in the middle of a feeder band. Rainfall rates 23 inches of rain per hour. But whats also interesting, as i widen out the view, look at the feeder band. Well track how far down it feeds almost to near mexico, about 315 miles away, feeding into this. The radar estimated 48hour rainfall in some areas, 2024 inches of rain. You can really see how its been piling up going through the Morning Hours and about to go into the afternoon hours. So look at the maximum totals by county. Harris county, houston area, galveston county, more than 24inches of rain and in Harris County but also surrounding counties more than two feet of rain so far and not done yet. In the a last hour, a couple of inches of rain but well add on to that as the feeder bands push in. The future sky forecast, through the remainder of the Morning Hours, into the evening, it doesnt stop. It sits over the same area, and that means well be dealing with the potential of another maybe 14 inches of rain by tuesday to wednesday, by thursday, an additional 22 inches of rain from now till then on the top of the two feet weve already seen because harvey is just moving very slow. Southsoutheast at two miles per hour. Now, a lot of us like to focus on winds at 40 miles per hour. It is going to hang out as we go through the next couple of days as a Tropical Storm. Punishing conditions. Scott padgett, ktvt. Thank you very much. Nearly every major road in the houston area are closed due to flooding including major interstates. Streets in downtown houston have been turned into rivers. Mark strassmann is there now. Mark, how do things look now . Well, the rain just picked up again, elaine, in the last ten minutes, really started coming down hard. Standing on i 45 again. This is for folks who dont know, i 45 goes will you the city, nobody can go through past because of the water. People have been walking. They were at th the mayweather fight at a friends house last night. We have been walking an hour. Reporter what are you trying to do . To get to a place on the other side of this because my dog is there. Reporter youre worried about the dog. Water got to the first floor of the apartment flex. We want to get to him. We didnt mean to leave him. We didnt think i would get this bad. Reporter so you walked how long, about four miles . Yeah, through u. Of h. s campus and hopped on 45 and walked down. Have you seen some unusual things . A bunch of cars coming down and tfrning around, but, i mean, i kind of knew this was a low spot and we could kind of hop off and make our way. We were hoping for the best. Reporter weird walking down the highway. Yeah, we took video and pictures. Reporter are you seeing parts to have the city you dont recognize . Dont recognize this at all whatsoever. Im used to seeing high water on buffalo bayou. Yoi can tell you now, our place emailed us, its never gotten that high. Reporter you decided to go for the dog because if you waited it would get worse . We have stuff stockpiled. We want to get to him. We were at two safe places. We wanted to make sure we got him in a safe place. Before the rain comes down harder which it is. Reporter ill let you guys go. Be safe, guys. You too. Reporter as i was telling you guys, cars and trucks obviously cant get past here. There was a line of them, you can still see a couple, a line of them have mostly turned around and gone the other way. I think we still have video we want to show you one more time. It is startling to look at. A white pickup tried to go barreling through this flooded, lowlying spot with predictable results. Within seconds, the truck started sinking into the water, the driver was inside the truck, people on the outside standing off to the shore were screaming at him to get out of the truck, its not worth it, save yourself, dont worry about the truck, but he kept trying to go through the water. At one point, he finally got out of the truck and was almost trying to hold the truck back, prevent it from sinking. Of course, that didnt work either. He actually went back into the cab of his truck trying to save something that was inside. We were all really worried he wa going to get trapped in the truck and potentially drown. I mean, this was not the way to go about this. Sure enough, he finally swam away from the truck, and the truck itself, im looking at the spot, you cant see anything, its completely underwater. He probably drove into what was 1012 feet of water, completely over the roof of the truck. The truck is bound to be a total loss. The last time i saw him, he was trying to fish some of his belongings out of the water, using an umbrella to hook, get the contents of what had spilled out of the back of the truck and into the water. He was trying to save his cooler and whatever other stuff he had in the back to have the truck. But he was lucky to get away from that mistake he made with his wife. One more thing. I told you that the george r. Brown Convention Center has been turned into a shelter for flood victims. We just sent a team over there. So far, theres almost nobody there. Its still early, but again, people will have trouble getting to that Convention Center just because of impassable situations like this one. If they need a place to stay, its going to be a struggle for a lot of people just because lowlying spots have become islands in many places, completely surrounded by water, and some of those folks are bound to be very, very nervous as they watch water rise into their house and theyre trying to find the highest spot they possibly can. Elaine, kristine . Yeah, the man in the pickup, desperate feeling to lose your possession bus not worthrie rock islandicing your life. Not at all. Thank you. President trump is getting updates about the storm and tweeted, wow, new experts are calling harvey a once in a 500year flood. We have an allout effort going and going well. Earlier, he wrote, i will be going to texas as soon as the trip can be made without causing disruption. The focus must be life and safety. We are joined by mulla from the white house. An hour ago he took a meeting with advisors to get the latest on the developments. President trump is aware on the political front this is a major test for his Young Administration and the awareness seems to play out on what we imagine is the president s favorite communication form, on twitter. He has been very active today touting federal government and his administrations response to Hurricane Harvey and to the storm, tweeting, among other things, wonderful coordination between the federal government, local and state officials, between agencies of all levels of got. Major rescue operations underway. He also tweeted, the president has warned people to stay safe, to be safe in those affected areas. He stressed the seriousness of the storms hes been updated. But the focus of the president s tweets has also at times shifted toth or topics to other topics. He also tweeted this morning about the border wall, nafta. At one point he seemed to be promoting the book of a controversial sheriff david clark of wisconsin, milwaukee county, there, but for every one of those tweets, the president has followed up about a tweet of what he and his administration and the federal government is doing to respond to the storm. You heard coast guard officials a few moments ago talking about their footprint in texas as well as in louisiana and the damaged areas. Femur director brock mentioned the federal government deployed about 5,000 people to those damaged areas and doing everything from conducting search and rescue efforts, helping to restore power in areas that have lost it, so a major footprint there by the federal government. Elaine and kristine. Mulla laney from the white house. Thank you. We go to Demarco Morgan, 30 miles south of houston in dickinson. We have been watching from your Vantage Point where some of the rescues have been taking place. Yes, were looking at a rescue taking place further back. If you look at this group, it looks like a family. They have small children on their shoulders. Theyre trying to make their wayward this bridge which is extremely dangerous. All our hearts stopped on this bridge watching. Weve seen a number of boats going by. It does not look good. A truck tried to drive through here, the storm was so strong it hit a couple of polls, but it spun out of control. You can see kids being rescued on the small boat back there. It may be blocked by the tree, but a number of children. Were seeing a ton of babies who are having to be reese cued rescued. Its good to see theyre rescued, but you can only imagine about the ones not accounted for. This family on this small boat are being rescued as well. We are witnessing this firsthand. People are trying to do the best they can. You can see a lot of strangers. sound breaking quijano your audio is breaking. If we can stay open your picture, one of the things that folks may not realize, we look at images that are heartbreaking of families desperately trying to move their loved ones out. Is this good . Yes, demarco. I was saying one of the things i think people dont realize but i know from having covered floods is that federal officials will tell you that it only takes about 6 inches of water to absolutely knock someone off their feet. Even as we watch images of people wading through streets thinking theyre okay, there is still very much a danger and that current as you have been showing us has been fast moving. Demarco, what are you seeing now . Were seeing the family trying to come through but it looks like this boat. Im hoping this boat will be headed in that direction to try and capture and rescue that family there. We want to apologize for our equipment out here. Its taking a beating with this raining. Were doing the best we possibly can with these mics here. If this boat goes by, that will be the fourth or fifth boat that we counted that passed this family. Looks like this family may be trying to make their way into this parking lot that looks like its okay to stand up because most of the cars in that area are not covered, so hopefully that family is okay and they probably knew exactly what they were doing because they know this area better than we do. If you look here, if you can get this, this is also a family that had to be rescued here using quijano demarco, apologies, we have lost your audio, understandable given the punishing conditions. One of the many rescues demarco watched take place there in dickinson, texas. Lets bring in correspondent jason miles of our crbt affiliate in houston khou, joining us from dickinson, texas as well. Jason, give us your Vantage Point. What do you see . I dont think were too far from demarco, guys. Weve seen people be rescued by boat, chopper, school bus, National Guard truck, dump truck. Name the vehicle and ive seen people come out of the area. A pickup, kayaks, weve seen people float along an interstate. This is i 45, the gulf freeway, as we call it in this area, runs in this section at least from galveston island and the city of houston. The inbound lanes covered, the outbound lanes covered with water. No one getting through that. Its probably waist or shoulder deep in spots on that side of
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