Hurricane Harvey: Night curfew imposed in flooded Houston

The city of Houston has imposed a night-time curfew on its residents in a bid to stop reported looting and robberies as the city begins to recover from the impact of Hurricane Harvey.

The storm, which dumped record levels of rain on the city causing widespread "catastrophic" flooding, has claimed up to 30 lives and left large parts of Houston underwater.

"Parts of the Houston area set a record for rainfall from a single storm anywhere in the continental United States, with a top reading on Tuesday afternoon, since the storm began, of 51.88 inches," the New York Times says.

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"The curfew is in place between 00:00 and 05:00 local time (05:00 and 10:00 GMT). Relief volunteers, first responders, and those going to and from work are exempt," the BBC says.

US President Donald Trump visited the town of Corpus Christi, where Harvey made landfall on Friday, to survey the damage to the region.

Trump said the storm was "of epic proportion", and has declared a federal state of emergency in both Texas and nearby Louisiana, where Harvey is expected to make landfall again in the coming days, The Guardian says.

Among the victims of the flooding is Police Sgt Steve Perez, who died "late Sunday or early Monday" while attempting to rescue local residents, USA Today reports.