Houston floods: Night curfew bid to stop robbery and looting

Updated August 30, 20172 Mins read421

p05dnlwm — Media captionThe numbers behind Storm Harvey

The US city of Houston has declared a night-time curfew as it battles the impact of Hurricane Harvey.

The storm has dumped record rainfall, leaving large parts of the city underwater, homes destroyed and over 20 people reported dead.

Houston mayor Sylvester Turner said the curfew was needed to head off looting in America’s fourth most populous city.

President Donald Trump visited Texas on Tuesday to survey the damage brought by Harvey, calling the storm “epic”.

The curfew will run from 00:00-05:00 local time (05:00-10:00 GMT) for an indefinite period. Relief volunteers, first responders, and those going to and from work are exempt.

Mr Turner said the curfew would help prevent “property crimes” against evacuated homes, and was in force “only to prevent potential criminal acts”.

City officials have reported instances of looting, armed robberies and of people impersonating police officers.

Thousands of people have fled their homes in search of emergency shelter amid severe flooding.

p05dn6gz — Media captionTrump: ‘Texas can handle anything’

President Trump earlier arrived in Corpus Christi, where Hurricane Harvey first made landfall on Friday, with First Lady Melania Trump.

After landing in Texas, Mr Trump said he wanted the relief effort to stand as an example of how to respond to a storm. “We want to do it better than ever before,” he said.

“This storm, it’s epic what happened. But you know what, it happened in Texas and Texas can handle anything.”

He will not be visiting Houston. The White House said he did not want his visit to disrupt the emergency response.

The rainfall in Texas set a new record for the continental US, the National Weather Service said on Tuesday. A rain gauge in Cedar Bayou recorded 51.88 inches (132 cm) of rain since Friday.

More than 13,000 people have now been rescued in the affected areas.

p05dmv3z — Media captionStorm Harvey: Three factors that came together to bring unprecedented rainfall

In other developments:

A Houston police officer died after he became trapped in flood waters whilst trying to get to work, the city police chief said
Almost a third of Harris County, home to 4.6 million people, is reportedly underwater – an area 15 times the size of Manhattan
Officials in Harris County said 3,000 homes had been flooded by water spilling from the Addicks and Barker dams, according to Reuters
Some bridges and roads are said to be buckling under the stress
A levee at Columbia Lakes in Brazoria County, south of Houston, was breached, with authorities tweeting: “Get out now!”
A 1.5 mile (2.4km) radius around a chemical plant at Crosby was evacuated due to the possibility of a fire or explosion.

Mr Trump has already declared a federal state of emergency in both Texas and nearby Louisiana, where Harvey is expected to make landfall again on Wednesday morning.

The move releases emergency government funding and other assistance.

Harvey was the most powerful hurricane to hit Texas in more than 50 years when it made landfall on Friday near Corpus Christi, 220 miles (354km) south-west of Houston.

It was downgraded from a hurricane to a tropical storm, but is expected to continue dumping huge amounts of rain in the coming days over already flood-hit areas.

Residents of the Louisiana city of New Orleans, which marked the 12th anniversary of devastating Hurricane Katrina on Tuesday, are bracing for heavy rain and flash floods over the next two days.

Are you affected by Tropical Storm Harvey? Let us know about your experiences. Email haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk with your stories.

Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also contact us in the following ways: