Harvey Death Toll Slowly Rises While Waters Slowly Recede; Houston Reopens For Business

HOUSTON, TX — Hurricane Harvey made landfall a week ago today and it downright messed with Texas. The Category 4 storm dropped about 27 trillion gallons of rain, completely flooded Houston, turned the Golden Triangle into island cities, leveled buildings on the coastal bend and has taken at least 47 lives. Elected leaders at all levels of government vow that the Lone Star State will rise again. For Houston, it means getting back to normalcy.

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said the Houston Zoo and BARC animal shelter will both reopen at 1 p.m. Friday. Admission to the zoo is the reduced cost of $5. The Houston Astros returned home and will play a home series against the New York Mets, with a double header on Saturday and one game Sunday. Some city bus routes are back in swing and the shelter population is dwindling. The ports have reopened, but swift waters from the down flow make it difficult for some of the large cargo ships to maneuver in and out of port.

Donations have poured in by tens of millions of dollars, FEMA is working with individual families, local businesses have reopened shop, people are on the street jogging and folks are moving forward.

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“Don’t bet against Houston and don’t bet against Harris County,” Turner said Thursday night at a news conference. “We’ll rebuild, and we’ll rebuild quickly.”

Houston isn’t out of the water just yet, though. Many neighborhoods close to rivers and bayous remain flooded while officials decide how to release water from the overflowing Addicks-Barker Reservoir.

The water is starting to recede around the city, but many officials have begun to worry about the amount of dead bodies will be found. Harris County Forensics reported Thursday they are running out of room for the bodies. They’re considering leasing a refrigerated 18-wheeler to house the bodies they expect to find.

Meanwhile over in Southeast Texas, cities have become separate islands with no way of moving from one to the other unless you have a boat or helicopter. Several water rescues have been made, and some residents of Beaumont, Port Arthur and Orange have been transported by C-130 aircraft to Dallas.

The storm dropped 50 inches of rain in some places, so much that the National Weather Service needed to add colors and come up with new ways to chart such rain events.

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Top Image by Shawn Sayers/With Permission for Patch