Rescuers work in southwest Houston, the United States, on Aug. 29, 2017. Tropical storm Harvey has broken the record of rainfall from a cyclonic storm in the U.S. mainland, with 132 centimeters of rain observed in the state of Texas, authorities said on Tuesday. (Xinhua/Liu Liwei)
HOUSTON, Aug. 29 (Xinhua) -- The metro region of Houston felt somewhat relieved Tuesday as Tropical Storm Harvey kept moving eastward, but risks of flooding still exist and the task to accommodate a rising number of people made homeless by the disaster is formidable.
The Barker Reservoir and Addicks Reservoir, the two major flood-control reservoirs for the Houston area, are spilling over into adjacent subdivisions. Officials warn that thousands of homes are at risk and have issued voluntary evacuations for at least 80 subdivisions.
By Monday night, at least 100-200 homes in adjacent subdivisions were flooded. Officials expect that more homes will be impacted throughout the week.
Outflows from the two reservoirs would eventually reach the Buffalo Bayou, a river which flows through the center of Houston.
According to the National Hurricane Center, a preliminary report from one Texas rain gauge has broken the Texas tropical cyclone rainfall record, which reaches 49.32 inches (about 125 cm), higher than the previous record of 48 inches (about 122 cm) set during tropical cyclone Amelia of 1978 at Medina, Texas.
The Space Science and Engineering Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison determined that many areas of southeast Texas have received rain that is expected to come around only once every 1,000 years.
The record-breaking precipitation brought by Harvey has made many residents homeless and they have to seek shelter.
The American Red Cross estimates that more than 17,000 Texans spent Monday night in one of 45 shelters open across the state, including about 9,000 people at downtown Houston's George R. Brown Convention Center.
The mayor's spokesman Alan Bernstein said Tuesday evening that it will soon begin moving 2,500 people taking shelter at the downtown George R. Brown Convention Center to help relieve the convention center, which was prepared for just 5,000 people.
An official of Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) coordinating federal Harvey relief said Tuesday evening that the agency is getting ready to open NRG Stadium as Houston's next major shelter.
Houston's fire chief says the fire department made more than 750 water rescues on Tuesday.
Houston police reported that 14 looters were arrested in the last two days.
To deal with the security problem, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner has imposed a daily curfew which originally started from 10:00 p.m. (0300 GMT) to 5:00 a.m. (1000 GMT). On Tuesday evening, Turner announced the curfew was pushed back to midnight, running to 5:00 a.m.
Under the curfew, city residents are not allowed outside. Police Chief Art Acevedo said this was partly to prevent looting and other crimes.
Texas law increases punishments for assault, robbery, burglary and theft in counties declared as disaster areas.
