Houston saw clear skies on Wednesday as water levels crested and floodwaters began to slowly recede, but Harvey, downgraded to a tropical depression late Wednesday, continued to bring new flooding to the east of Houston and into Louisiana. The deaths attributed to Harvey reached at least 38, and search-and-rescue teams expect to find more bodies as the waters recede. Heartbreaking stories are emerging from Houston — like a young girl who survived floodwaters by clinging to her mother, who did not survive, and the three brothers and two friends whose boat got swept toward downed power lines during their third rescue outing, with two of them dead and two missing.
In nearby Crosby, Texas, a flooded chemical plant owned by French company Arkema is expected to explode, prompting an evacuation of a 1.5-mile radius. About 100 miles east of Houston, small cities like Port Arthur and Beaumont, and towns like Orange and Newton, were largely underwater, with bowling alleys becoming refuge points and rescue crews trying to find dry shelters for displaced residents. "Our whole city is underwater right now," Port Arthur Mayor Derrick Freeman said on Facebook. Firefighters from as far away as Florida stepped in to help.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
The Spanish cop, 20 million euros and 13 tonnes of cocaineIn the Spotlight Óscar Sánchez Gil, Chief Inspector of Spain's Economic and Tax Crimes Unit, has been arrested for drug trafficking
-
5 hilarious cartoons about the rise and fall of Matt GaetzCartoons Artists take on age brackets, backbiting, and more
-
The future of XTalking Point Trump's ascendancy is reviving the platform's coffers, whether or not a merger is on the cards
-
Biden visits Amazon, says climate legacy irreversibleSpeed Read Nobody can reverse America's 'clean energy revolution,' said the president, despite the incoming Trump administration's promises to dismantle climate policies
-
At least 95 dead in Spain flash floodsSpeed Read Torrential rainfall caused the country's worst flooding since 1996
-
Cuba roiled by island-wide blackouts, Hurricane OscarSpeed Read The country's power grid collapsed for the fourth time in just two days
-
Wildlife populations drop a 'catastrophic' 73%Speed Read The decline occurred between 1970 and 2020
-
Floridians flee oncoming Hurricane MiltonSpeed Read The hurricane is expected to cause widespread damage in the state
-
Beryl kills 4, knocks out power to 2.7M in TexasSpeed Read Millions now face sweltering heat without air conditioning
-
Arid Gulf states hit with year's worth of rainSpeed Read The historic flooding in Dubai is tied to climate change
-
EPA limits carcinogenic emissions at 218 US plantsSpeed Read The new rule aims to reduce cancer-causing air pollution in areas like Louisiana's 'Cancer Alley'
