We do say good morning. Im kendis. Im lynda lopez in for diane macedo. Southeast texas waking up to more drenching downpours and catastrophic flooding triggered by Tropical Storm harvey blamed for at least three deaths. Its expected to dump up to 50 inches of rain before moving out later this week. Frantic rescue operations continued. Emergency crews and volunteers plucking trapped families from homes. Water waist deep in many areas. Overnight the army corps of engineers began a controlled release of water from two reservoirs which could flood thousands more homes. In the meantime, this is what the runway looked at houstons Hobby Airport underwater. Natasha barrett has breaking details from houston right now. Natasha, good morning to you. Reporter good morning, kendis and lynda. Im born and raised in this city and it is absolutely heartbreaking to see what is going on right now. Like so many others, millions of others weve been up all night watching whats happening to our homes because theres even more mandatory evacuations at this hour. People wondering what they should do as rivers are rising and were far from out of the woods. Harvey still could dump anywhere from 15 to 25 more inches of rain on us. Rescues you continued throughout the night in houston the countrys fourth largest city in crisis. The water came up so fast. It was incredible. Reporter Emergency Management officials are asking the public for help saying they need more boats for rescues as roads have turned into river. The geography not helping the situation. Rainwater is forced onto streets then on to small bayous easily overwhelmed by heavy downpours. First responders are stretched so thin, neighbors are pitching this to help rescue others from the devastating floodwaters that followed Hurricane Harvey. First time in 40 years that the water has come up this high. Been here for 40 years. Other desperate residents are being plucked from the rooftop. Some by coast guard helicopters. Choppers from as far away as san diego and cape cod have joined in rescue efforts. That person is on their roof. Theyve been yelling help and hello for the last few minutes. Reporter many having trouble getting through to 911 as its been overrun with thousands of calls. Residents are being told not to call until the situation is lifethreatening. We need help in fifth ward. We need people here to evacuate people. Get people here now before they die. Reporter the citys mayor asking for patience. Many of those already rescued from the floodwaters left with nothing. Like memories that get taken away by something you dont expect but i mean its all just materialistic stuff. Reporter more than 2,000 people have been rescued. That number is growing at this hour. Heres the other thing. For the people waiting to see if they need to evacuate, the roads mostly closed everywhere you turn every highway is closed because of high water. People now wondering where will they go if they have to leave their homes with their families . Kendis, lynda. Many says the time to evacuate was actually last thursday or friday to which the mayor is getting a little bit of heat but theres a little bit of history down there as to why they didnt evacuate people. You know, kendis, the mayor said in and has been answering questions why didnt he evacuate, at least the city limits when we knew this could possibly happen all of this rainfall but the thing is with all the coastal areas needing to evacuate he wanted the roads to be open because back in the early 2000s, 05 with hurricane rita right after katrina people were frightened. They hit the roads and they were gridlocked for hours trying to get up north to dallas and people were stranded and ran out of gas. He didnt want people to be in an hysterical state of mind so he was opening the roads for people that he knew would need it so thats why this went down the way it did. Yeah, dozens of people died when they were evacuating one of those previous storms. Thank you. This disaster is still unfolding because as we mentioned much more rain is expected. In fact, Tropical Storm harvey is expected to restrengthen today. Accuweathers Paul Williams is tracking it. Paul. What we have right now, this storm is still barely on the threshold of being a Tropical Storm but its still deadly nonetheless. The location 28. 7 north, 96. 4 west. Its moving to the eastsoutheast at three miles per hour. Winds sustained at 40 miles per hour. Now, the eye emerging just slightly off the coast expected to strengthen just a little bit at least to stay cohesive enough so itll still have its impact as it tracks toward the north. The eye has fallen apart so expected not to be upgraded to a hurricane. The heavy downpours still causing multiple concerns for tornado Warnings Issued throughout the area and take a look at this. Water, were expecting an additional 16 to 32 inches of rain from the outlying and outer tentacles of this thing, weve had over 150 and still counting tornado warnings alone, were not even talking about the devastation of the flooding. But look at the track. Were expecting this track throughout eastern portions of texas and i wanted to make this very simple for understanding sake. Eastern part of the state right into the southern portions of arkansas, but i want you to know this is going until friday. Its going to take it a week to travel through eastern texas. Were talking about devastating and catastrophic impact with flooding, with over 50 inches of rain in some areas. Wow. Accuweathers Paul Williams joining us. Well, in houston alone, 911 operators were swamped by more than 56,000 calls in just a 15hour period. Absolutely incredible and as the desperate pleas for help pour in volunteers are joining First Responders helping to pull neighbors and total strangers to safety. We went in there with a military grade fivetime vehicle and it was able to get in the neighborhood pretty quickly and rescue it was able to rescue a lot of people with that. So far just coming in helping people get in the boats, helping make sure theyre safe. There was an elderly couple. One of the neighbors was nice enough to take them in so they could have somewhere to be. We just called people and ask fundamental they needed help and a lot of people were like yeah, we need some help. I got the kids, i made them laugh. Helped them, you know, get over their anxiety of being out in the cold water or seeing a large amount of water in their front yard. Theyre being called houstons heroes and its not just texas, though, parts of louisiana could see as much as 25 inches of rain from the storm. Louisianas governor is now asking the president to declare federal emergency for at least five parishes because of the significant damage expected from the rain in the next few days. Well, still ahead, President Trump gets set for his trip to houston. Criticism of a controversial pardon grows. The local newsman who found himself and his family right in the middle of the harvey flooding story. Broadcasting live as the waters road in his home. Stay with us. Ok, lets try this. It says you apply the blue one to me. Here . No. Have a little fun together, or a lot. Ky yours and mine. Two sensations that work together, so you can play together. Tand, our adulte children are here. So, we save by using tide. Which means we use less. Three generations of clothes cleaned in one wash. Those are moms. Anybody seen my pants . Nothing cleans better. Put those on dad its got to be tide. If what you see is what you get. Then youve hit the jackpot. You cant fake steak. Longhorn steakhouse. 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Texas tomorrow but hes facing a political firestorm after his pardon of controversial Sheriff Joe Arpaio. As Hurricane Harvey pummeled texas, the president issued a pardon for the 85yearold arizona sheriff tweeting he is an american patriot. Arpaio hadnt even been sentenced yet after he was convicted of criminal contempt for ignoring a judges order to stop using racial profiling to detain latinos. The president s Homeland Security adviser tom boss territory defended the president s decision. I think its pretty straightforward what the president did. This is not going to threaten our constitutional order. Reporter but he is facing criticism from that. Joe biden wrote, the president s contempt for the u. S. Constitution and his willingness to divide this nation knows no bounds. Even members of the president s own party say they disagree including House Speaker paul ryan and arizonas two republican senators. John mccain saying the president s pardon undermines his claim for the respect of rule of law adding arpaio has shown no remorse. And Sheriff Joe Arpaio is lashing out at that republican criticism. In an interview with the wall street journal he said the president is a great guy and im with him adding im sad what theyre doing to him. Kendis and lynda. Hes always been a combative sheriff indeed. Arlette, thank you. Well, there have been thousands of rescues in houston so far. And one hit close to home for people at our houston many station ktrk. Joe gleason, a photographer broadcast live from his home as the waters rose. Take a look. We actually started moving things upstairs about 5 00 and then probably about 5 15 the water started coming through and so at that point we kind of just said, okay, lets just get, you know, the most important things, pets, kids and go on back upstairs. Heres the before picture. This is what it looks like normally and then you see it today so never before have we seen it this high. Were happy to report that joe gleasons family was rescued and is safe. When we come back, the emotional scene as a pregnant woman set to give birth this weeks sees what happened to her home in the storm zone. Rescuers arriving at just the right time. The dramatic scenes in houston playing out just a matter of hours ago and how you can help. How do you chase what you love with moderate to severe Rheumatoid Arthritis . Do what i did. Ask your doctor about humira. Its proven to help relieve pain and protect joints from further irreversible damage in many adults. Humira works by targeting and helping to block a specific source of inflammation that contributes to ra symptoms. Humira has been clinically studied for over 20 years. Humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. 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Its got to be tide if you have fleas. Eas, use advantage® ii monthly on your cat to prevent and treat flea infestations. Advantage® ii. Fight the misery of infesting fleas. This dramatic scene, Good Samaritans helping to pulle driver of this flooded suv to safety. Houston police have asked anyone with a boat to help with rescue. The socalled cajun navy from louisiana is responding. Thats an Informal Group of rescuers who formed after hurricane katrina. So many good smarr rescues like that and so many people are still waiting to be rescued. Many taking to social media to beg for help. Earlier i spoke with several people trapped waiting for the waters to recede. 19 of them between the ages of 7 and 96 in one home in houston. It was like out of a movie. We were outside. We would see one helicopter fly by. One direction. Another helicopter fly and then another direction we heard boats. But when we were outside you would go in the front yard and backyard and you would see one or the other, a helicopter lowering someone down to save them. I mean this was going on for a good couple of hours. Are you guys planning to leave the home or leave that area any time . Are you waiting for people to come and rescue you . No. Were planning to stay till the water recedes. We dont have power. We do have plumbing right now. But we feel lucky, fortunate that were dry and we have enough food, enough water and to hopefully within the next 24, 48, 36 hours the water will recede and people will be able to go to other places. Do you feel as if youre in danger at all . Yes, very, very much so. I mean we have one of the housing that are higher up and its one thing to feel for your community which is something obviously they feel very much inside but its another thing and just another level to be scared for yourself and your own wellbeing. Like the 96yearold. We have to get her across the street and had to lift her across water. We dont have access theres 19 people here and to get all of us out by canoe or kayak or raft, its a big we dont have a place to go. Well, one man is describing another dramatic rescue. He was racing to a neighborhood with a canoe to help his family. But on his way he heard someone on the highway yelling for help. Standing in chest deep water, heres what he told ktrk reporter ted oberg. I heard somebody screaming so i saw the guy and another kid jump over and i paddled up to the guy and i asked what hes standing on. He said his truck, an 18wheeler. And all i could see was this part of him. Meanwhile, more than 1,000 people who have fled the flooding are now staying at the Houston Convention center. Heres what they told our station ktrk overnight. Everything is under water. Cars underwater. Our house is underwater. So everything is just we here with the kids. Oh, my goodness. Theyve had a long night. We all had a long night. Everybody had a long night. We were scared to go to sleep so we were taking turns to stay up, making sure water didnt go above nobody. This is my front yard this morning. Thats the front porch. Didnt make it up to the front porch but i was getting scared but it was scary this morning. Even amazingly some of those evacuees moved to houston from new orleans in 2005 after fleeing hurricane katrina. The coastal town of rockport initially took the hardest hit from harvey. Many families have lost everything there. But the weeks family is facing even more uncertainty. You see danielle weeks is pregnant and scheduled for a csection tomorrow. But its now unclear if that will actually happen. Our matt gutman surveyed the damage to the familys home, most of it gone. So we cant see its torn up. Thats the baby blanket that i was making for her. That was in our bedroom which is on that end of the trailer so theres officials ordered a mandatory evacuation of rockport but they estimate that nearly half of the residents stayed put. Thousands are without power and basic needs. Up next, before and after images that sum up the growing catastrophe in houston and you what can do to help those in need. Some of the most remarkable images from the flood zone this morning. Stay with us. Is to make sure that that enamel stays strong and resilient for a lifetime the more that we can strengthen and reharden that tooth surface, the whiter their patients teeth are going to be. Dentists are going to really want to recommend pronamel strong and bright. It helps to strengthen and reharden the enamel. It also has stain lifting action. Its going to give their patients the protection that they need and the whiter teeth that they want. It can seem like triggers pop up everywhere. Luckily theres powerful, 24hour, nondrowsy claritin. 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And Many Americans are asking what they can do to help the people of texas. Well, entertainer kevin hart is trying to do his part. In a video that went viral overnight he called on his fellow celebrities to step up to the challenge saying people in Southeast Texas need all the help they can get. I challenge the rock, steve harvey, chris rock, dave chappelle, jayz, beyonce, justin timberlake, Jerry Seinfeld and i think when you do it, you all should tag somebody else, 25,000 is coming from me. Wow. Hes putting some money where his mouth is. Harts video has been viewed by more than a Million People and heres an important number. If you want to help you can text the word harvey to the red cross at 90999 to immediately donate 10. Well, the flooding in texas apparently brought out one mans passion for fishing. Take a look. Wait, wait, wait. Oh, my god. So this guy grabbed a fish from the floodwaters right there in his living room. Why not. Undless energy. 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The most common side effects are headache, nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting. Side effects can lead to dehydration, which may cause kidney problems. Nows the time for a better moment of proof. Ask your doctor about victoza®. Hello, good morning, everyone, im matt odonnell, monday, august 28. 4 27 a. M. , were tracking Tropical Storm harvey and its continued devastation in the houston area. Epic flooding in homes and highways. Well have the latest developments. Local volunteers are heading to the south to help victims of harvey. A philadelphia firefighters is in sble condition after battling a blaze overnight. Its back to school today for some of the the the lehigh valls well help you get ready for it next on action news. To becom Tropical Storm irma is developing off the southeast coast bringing heavy rain to florida and the carolinas. Well continue to watch that. Record heat on the west coast. Finally this half hour an image from harvey that is as stunning as it is putting the spotlight on efforts to protect some of the sa vulnerable victim, seniors. Eva pilgrim has the story and controversy over whether officials should have issued more evacuations before the storm. Reporter the picture heartbreaking. Senior citizens some in wheelchairs trapped in the nursing home just outside houston. One woman seems to be calmly knitting in her recliner as the water rises. Od making escap impossible another woman sent that picture soninlaw. She said, things are really bad. She said we really need help right now so we cant wait. Reporter a few hours later helicopter and an official tell local paper we were ting g grandfathers. Here evacuations still under way. An elderly woman with a walker helped into a truck. A mother clutching her baby in a canoe. They were among the many who did not evacuate. In hst road and putting themselves in greater danger. Reporter from the governor, the opposite advice. If you have the ability to evacuate and go somewhere else for a little while, it would be good. Reporter the governor refusing to criticize the saying weve moved beyond whether or not there should have been an evacuation or eva pilgrim, abc news, son, tex. Thanks to eva there. Of the front pages of newspapers really telling the story, daily news with the headline hell and high water. Sums it up with pretty gripping images Houston Chronicle the hometown paper simply saying good morning oven 4 30 a. M. , monday, august 18. Tam is off, make that 28, tam is off, Jeanette Reyes joins us, were tracking the devastating impact of harvey. The once hurricane is leaving thousands of people stranded needing rescue. At least three people have died in the storm. Flooding in the nations 4th largest city is being called unprecedented it is still