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Friday 20 September 2019
Continued from Front Houston Mayor Sylvester
More than 900 flights were Turner evoked the mem-
canceled or delayed in ory of Harvey — which
Houston, and further along dumped more than 50
the Texas Gulf Coast, au- inches of rain on the na-
thorities warned that a tion's fourth-largest city
levee could break near in 2017 — while pleading
Beaumont in Jefferson with residents to stay put.
County. City officials said they had
A 19-year-old man received more than 1,500
drowned and was elec- high-water rescue calls to
trocuted while trying to 911, most from drivers stuck
move his horse to safety, on flooded roads, but au-
according to a message thorities described a num-
from his family shared by ber of them as people who
the Jefferson County Sher- were inconvenienced and
iff's Office. Crystal Holmes, not in immediate danger.
a spokeswoman for the de- Ahead of the evening
partment, said the death rush hour, Houston officials
occurred during a light- urged commuters to stay
ning storm. Authorities else- in their offices rather than
where had reported no loss embark on flooded and al-
of life or major injuries. ready jammed highways.
The National Weather Ser- Turner made a similar ap-
vice said radar estimates peal to parents of school-
suggested that Jefferson children as the Houston
County was deluged with Independent School Dis-
more than 40 inches of rain trict — Texas' largest with
in a span of just 72 hours. more than 200,000 students
"The water kept rising. It — did not cancel classes
kept rising. I couldn't be- or shorten the day unlike
lieve it," said Ruby Trahan neighboring districts in the
Robinson, 63. She uses a path of the storm.
wheelchair and had a por- rush-hour evening com-
table oxygen tank while muters to remain in their of-
getting settled into a shel- fices and off city roads until
ter at city hall in the small flood waters from torrential
town of China, just outside rains recede.
Beaumont. Mayor Sylvester Turner
"It rolled in like a river," she made a similar appeal to
said. the parents of school chil-
In this photo provided by the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, a family is rescued via fan boat
by a member of the department from the flood waters of Tropical Depression Imelda near Beau-
mont, Texas, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2019.
Associated Press

dren in flood-affected ar- officials warned that some a levy was deteriorating
eas of the city. of their 4.7 million residents should use their boats to
Imelda is the first named might not see high waters pick up neighbors and car-
storm to impact the Hous- recede in their neighbor- ry them to safety. Thunder-
ton area since Harvey hoods until the weekend. storms had spawned sev-
hovered for days and in- "We're still putting water eral weak tornadoes in the
undated the flood-prone on top of water," said Jeff Baytown area, about 25
Gulf Coast. That storm Linder, meteorologist of the miles (40 kilometers) east of
dumped more than 5 feet Harris County Flood Control Houston, damaging trees,
(1.5 meters) of water near District. barns and sheds and caus-
the Louisiana border, and In Winnie, a town of about ing minor damage to some
two years later, it looked 3,200 people 60 miles (95 homes and vehicles.
in some places like Harvey kilometers) east of Houston, The National Hurricane
was playing out all over a hospital was evacuated. Center said Imelda weak-
again. Chambers County Sheriff ened to a tropical depres-
A massive Houston furniture Brian Hawthorne said emer- sion after making landfall
store became a shelter for gency workers completed as a tropical storm Tuesday
evacuees. Live television more than 300 rescues near Freeport, Texas, with
footage showed firefighters overnight and some resi- maximum sustained winds
rescuing stranded truckers dents were up on their roofs of 40 mph (64 kph).
on major highways. On so- because of rising floodwa- The flooding from Imelda
cial media, people posted ters. During Harvey, Beau- came as Hurricane Hum-
that water was quickly mont's only pump station berto blew off rooftops and
seeping into their home was swamped by floodwa- toppled trees in the British
and asked for help. ters, leaving residents with- Atlantic island of Bermuda,
Large swaths of Interstate out water service for more and Hurricane Jerry was
10 were turned into water- than a week. The Jefferson expected to move to the
ways and closed. And even County sheriff's office said northern Leeward Islands
as the intensity of the storm in a Facebook post that on Friday and north of Puer-
weakened, Harris County residents of an area where to Rico on Saturday.q