Rescuers pluck hundreds from rising floodwaters in Houston

MIAMI — HOUSTON (AP) - Tropical Storm Harvey sent devastating floods pouring into the nation's fourth-largest city Sunday as rising water chased thousands of people to rooftops or higher ground and overwhelmed rescuers who could not keep up with the constant calls for help.

[Photos: Hurricane Harvey causes widespread damage]

[SPECIAL HURRICANE SECTION]

The incessant rain covered much of Houston in turbid, gray-green water and turned streets into rivers navigable only by boat. In a rescue effort that recalled the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, helicopters landed near flooded freeways, airboats buzzed across submerged neighborhoods and high-wheel vehicles plowed through water-logged intersections. Some people managed with kayaks or canoes or swam.

Volunteers joined emergency teams to pull people from their homes or from the water, which was high enough in places to gush into second floors. The flooding was so widespread that authorities had trouble pinpointing the worst areas. They urged people to get on top of their homes to avoid becoming trapped in attics and to wave sheets or towels to draw attention to their location.

Judging from federal disaster declarations, the storm has so far affected about a quarter of the Texas population, or 6.8 million people in 18 counties.

As the water rose, the National Weather Service offered another ominous forecast: Before the storm that arrived Friday as a Category 4 hurricane is gone, some parts of Houston and its suburbs could get as much as 50 inches (1.3 meters) of rain. That would be the highest amount ever recorded in Texas.

Some areas have already received about half that amount. Since Thursday, South Houston recorded nearly 25 inches (63 centimeters), and the suburbs of Santa Fe and Dayton got 27 inches (69 centimeters).

"The breadth and intensity of this rainfall is beyond anything experienced before," the National Weather Service said in a statement.

Average rainfall totals will end up around 40 inches (1 meter) for Houston, weather service meteorologist Patrick Burke said.

The director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Brock Long, predicted that the aftermath of the storm would require FEMA's involvement for years.

"This disaster's going to be a landmark event," Long said.

Rescuers had to give top priority to life-and-death situations, leaving many affected families to fend for themselves.

Tom Bartlett and Steven Craig pulled a rowboat on a rope through chest-deep water for a mile to rescue Bartlett's mother from her home in west Houston. It took them 45 minutes to reach the house. Inside, the water reached halfway up the walls.

Marie Bartlett, 88, waited in her bedroom upstairs.

"When I was younger, I used to wish I had a daughter, but I have the best son in the world," she said. "In my 40 years here, I've never seen the water this high."

The city's main convention center was quickly opened as a shelter.

Gillis Leho arrived there soaking wet. She said she awoke Sunday to find her downstairs flooded. She tried to move some belongings upstairs, then grabbed her grandchildren.

"When they told us the current was getting high, we had to bust a window to get out," Leho said.

Some people used inflatable beach toys, rubber rafts and even air mattresses to get through the water to safety. Others waded while carrying trash bags stuffed with their belongings and small animals in picnic coolers.

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said authorities had received more than 2,000 calls for help, with more coming in. He urged drivers to stay off flooded roads to avoid adding to the number of those stranded.

"I don't need to tell anyone this is a very, very serious and unprecedented storm," Turner told a news conference. "We have several hundred structural flooding reports. We expect that number to rise pretty dramatically."

The deteriorating situation was bound to provoke questions about the conflicting advice given by the governor and Houston leaders before the hurricane. Gov. Greg Abbott urged people to flee from Harvey's path, but the Houston mayor issued no evacuation orders and told everyone to stay home.

The governor refused to point fingers on Sunday.

"Now is not the time to second-guess the decisions that were made," Abbott, a Republican, said at a news conference in Austin. "What's important is that everybody work together to ensure that we are going to, first, save lives and, second, help people across the state rebuild."

The mayor, a Democrat, defended his decision, saying there was no way to know which parts of the city were most vulnerable.

"If you think the situation right now is bad, and you give an order to evacuate, you are creating a nightmare," Turner said, citing the risks of sending the city's 2.3 million inhabitants onto the highways at the same time.

Rainfall of more than 4 inches per hour resulted in water levels higher than in any recent floods and higher than during Tropical Storm Allison in June 2001, said Jeff Linder of flood control district in Harris County, which includes Houston.

Jesse Gonzalez, and his son, also named Jesse, used their boat to rescue people from a southeast Houston neighborhood. Asked what he had seen, the younger Gonzalez replied: "A lot of people walking and a lot of dogs swimming."

"It's chest- to shoulder-deep out there in certain areas," he told television station KTRK as the pair grabbed a gasoline can to refill their boat.

The Coast Guard deployed five helicopters and asked for additional aircraft from New Orleans.

The White House announced that President Donald Trump would visit Texas on Tuesday. He met Sunday by teleconference with top administration officials to discuss federal support for response and recovery efforts.

The rescues unfolded a day after the hurricane settled over the Texas coastline. It was blamed for the deaths at least two people.

The fiercest hurricane to hit the U.S. in more than a decade came ashore late Friday about 30 miles (48 kilometers) northeast of Corpus Christi with 130 mph (209 kph) winds.

Harvey weakened Saturday to a tropical storm. On Sunday, it was virtually stationary about 25 miles (40 kilometers) northwest of Victoria, Texas, with maximum sustained winds of about 40 mph (72.42 kph), the hurricane center said.

The system was the fiercest hurricane to hit the U.S. in 13 years and the strongest to strike Texas since 1961's Hurricane Carla, the most powerful Texas hurricane on record.

The flooding was so widespread that authorities had trouble pinpointing the worst areas. They urged people to get on top of their homes to avoid becoming trapped in attics and to wave sheets or towels to draw attention to their location.

As the water rose, the National Weather Service offered another ominous forecast: Before the storm passes, some parts of Houston and its suburbs could receive as much as 50 inches (1.3 meters) of rain. That would be the highest amount ever recorded in Texas.

"The breadth and intensity of this rainfall is beyond anything experienced before," the National Weather Service said in a statement.

Average rainfall totals will end up around 40 inches (1 meter) for Houston, weather service meteorologist Patrick Burke said.

The director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Brock Long, said the government expected to conduct a "mass care mission" and predicted that the aftermath of the storm would require FEMA's involvement for years.

"This disaster's going to be a landmark event," Long said.

Rescuers had to give top priority to life-and-death situations, leaving many displaced families to fend for themselves. The city's main convention center was quickly opened as a shelter.

Gillis Leho arrived there soaking wet. She said she awoke Sunday to find her downstairs flooded. She tried to move some belongings upstairs, then grabbed her grandchildren.

"When they told us the current was getting high, we had to bust a window to get out," Leho said.

Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez used Twitter to field calls for assistance. Among those seeking help was a woman who posted: "I have 2 children with me and the water is swallowing us up."

Some people used inflatable beach toys, rubber rafts and even air mattresses to get through the water to safety. Others waded while carrying trash bags stuffed with their belongings and small animals in pet carriers.

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said authorities had received more than 2,000 calls for help, with more coming in. He urged drivers to stay off flooded roads to avoid adding to the number of those stranded.

"I don't need to tell anyone this is a very, very serious and unprecedented storm," Turner told a news conference. "We have several hundred structural flooding reports. We expect that number to rise pretty dramatically."

The mayor defended his decision not to ask residents to evacuate before the heavy rain from Harvey swamped roads and neighborhoods. He said there was no way to know which areas were most vulnerable.

"If you think the situation right now is bad, and you give an order to evacuate, you are creating a nightmare," he said, citing the risks of sending the city's 2.3 million inhabitants onto the highways at the same time.

Rainfall of more than 4 inches per hour resulted in water levels higher than in any recent floods and higher than during Tropical Storm Allison in June 2001, said Jeff Linder of flood control district in Harris County, which includes Houston.

Rescuers came by land, water and air.

On Interstate 45 south of downtown, television video showed people climbing over concrete dividers to get to a high-wheel dump truck that appeared to be wheels-deep in water on a service road. They clambered up the side of the truck to get into the dump box.

In Friendswood near Houston, authorities asked people with flat-bottomed airboats or fuel for them to help rescue people.

Jesse Gonzalez, and his son, also named Jesse, used their boat to rescue people from a southeast Houston neighborhood. Asked what he had seen, the younger Gonzalez replied: "A lot of people walking and a lot of dogs swimming."

"It's chest- to shoulder-deep out there in certain areas," he told television station KTRK as the pair grabbed a gasoline can to refill their boat.

The Coast Guard, which received more than 300 requests for help, deployed five helicopters and asked for additional aircraft from New Orleans.

Staff at a Houston television station broadcasting live coverage of the floods had to evacuate after water started to gush into the building. The anchors and news operations at KHOU moved first to a second floor before finally abandoning the station.

Rainfall totals climbed by the hour. Since Thursday, South Houston had received nearly 25 inches (63 centimeters) and the suburbs of Santa Fe and Dayton got 27 inches (69 centimeters).

President Donald Trump tweeted Sunday morning that he would visit Texas "as soon as that trip can be made without causing disruption. The focus must be life and safety."

The rescues unfolded a day after the hurricane settled over the Texas coastline. It was blamed for killing at least two people.

One person was killed in Aransas County in a fire at home during the storm, county Judge C.H. "Burt" Mills Jr. said.

Another person - a woman who tried to get out of her vehicle in high water - died in flooding in Harris County, where Houston is located, though authorities had not confirmed a cause of death, said Gary Norman, a spokesman for the Houston emergency operations center.

The fiercest hurricane to hit the U.S. in more than a decade came ashore late Friday about 30 miles (48 kilometers) northeast of Corpus Christi as a mammoth Category 4 storm with 130 mph (209 kph) winds.

Harvey weakened Saturday to a tropical storm. On Sunday, it was virtually stationary about 25 miles (40 kilometers) northwest of Victoria, Texas, with maximum sustained winds of about 40 mph (72.42 kph), the hurricane center said.

The system was the fiercest hurricane to hit the U.S. in 13 years and the strongest to strike Texas since 1961's Hurricane Carla, the most powerful Texas hurricane on record.

Authorities say sheriff's deputies in the Houston area saw a tornado touchdown about four times near Cypress as Tropical Storm Harvey pounds Texas.

The Harris County Sheriff's Office posted a video to Facebook on Saturday of Sheriff Ed Gonzalez speaking to residents and news media about the tornado. Gonzalez says a car with a driver inside was flipped over by the tornado, but is OK. Gonzalez says he and deputies were seeing extensive damage to roofs.

National Weather Service meteorologist Wendy Wong says that numerous tornadoes spawned by Harvey caused damage in Houston and the surrounding area - from around Matagorda on the coast to the Cypress area in the north. She said homes, vehicles and buildings were damaged.

More than a dozen Texas counties were under a tornado watch Saturday night.

In a briefing with the media, officials said that the total area in the disaster area is now 50 counties along the Gulf Coast and further inland.

A Coast Guard official said helicopters rescued 18 people from boats and barges that were in distress because of Harvey.

Capt. Tony Hahn, commander of the Corpus Christi sector, said Saturday that the two helicopters managed to rescue the people when it became safe enough to do so. He says they retrieved three people from a fishing boat, four from a barge and 11 from two tugboats.

He said several boats sank in the Port of Corpus Christi and there will be a lot of work to do before it can reopen.

Hahn also says that since Corpus Christi is the third largest petrochemical port in the nation, there is the potential for chemical and crude oil spills, so they'll be watching for that.

He said the Port of Brownsville reopened Saturday morning and they haven't yet been able to assess the Port of Victoria.

"We know that we've got millions of people who are going to feel the impact of this storm," said Dennis Feltgen, a spokesman and meteorologist for the National Hurricane Center. "We really pray that people are listening to their emergency managers and get out of harm's way."

At least one researcher predicted heavy damage that would linger for months or longer.

"In terms of economic impact, Harvey will probably be on par with Hurricane Katrina," said University of Miami senior hurricane researcher Brian McNoldy. "The Houston area and Corpus Christi are going to be a mess for a long time."

Before the storm arrived, home and business owners raced to nail plywood over windows and fill sandbags. Steady traffic filled the highways leaving Corpus Christi, but there were no apparent jams. In Houston, where mass evacuations can include changing major highways to a one-way vehicle flow, authorities left traffic patterns unchanged.

(5 Hurricane Facts)

Federal health officials called in more than 400 doctors, nurses and other medical professionals from around the nation and planned to move two 250-bed medical units to Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Other federal medical units are available in Dallas.

[Want to see Harvey for yourself? Here are 8 Texas webcams to watch]

Scientists warned that Harvey could swamp counties more than 100 miles (161 kilometers) inland and stir up dangerous surf as far away as Alabama and the Florida Panhandle, 700 miles (1,126 kilometers) from the projected landfall.

Even after weakening, the system might spin out into the Gulf and regain strength before hitting Houston a second time Wednesday as a tropical storm, forecasters said.

[READ MORE: Airlines waiving rebooking fees as Hurricane Harvey makes landfall]

All seven Texas counties on the coast from Corpus Christi to the western end of Galveston Island ordered mandatory evacuations from low-lying areas. Four counties ordered full evacuations and warned there was no guarantee of rescue for people staying behind.

[READ MORE: Charlotte volunteers head to Texas to help in Harvey aftermath]

Voluntary evacuations have been urged for Corpus Christi and for the Bolivar Peninsula, a sand spit near Galveston where many homes were washed away by the storm surge of Hurricane Ike in 2008.

People in the town of Port Lavaca, population 12,200, appeared to heed the danger. The community northeast of Corpus Christi was a ghost town Friday, with every business boarded up. But at a bayside RV park that looked vulnerable, John Bellah drove up in his pickup to have a look at an RV he had been told was for sale. He and his wife planned to ride out Harvey.

"This is just going to blow through," said Bellah, 72, who said he had been through Hurricane Rita in 2005 and Carla in 1961. He described those storms as "much worse."

State officials said they had no count on how many people actually left their homes.

The storm posed the first major emergency management test of President Donald Trump's administration.

[STORY: Critically ill babies evacuated from Texas coast ahead of Harvey]

The White House said Trump was closely monitoring the storm and planned to travel to Texas early next week to view recovery efforts. The president was expected to receive briefings during the weekend at Camp David.

Trump's homeland security and counterterrorism adviser, Tom Bossert, said the administration was "bringing together the firepower of the federal government to assist the state and local governments, but the state and local governments are in the lead here."

The previous Category 4 storm to hit the U.S. was Hurricane Charley in August 2004 in Florida. Superstorm Sandy, which pummeled New York and New Jersey in 2012, never had the high winds and had lost tropical status by the time it struck. But it was devastating without formally being called a major hurricane.

The rain and the storm surge could collide like a car and a train, particularly in the Galveston and Houston areas, said Needham, who works for private firm Marine Weather and Climate.

"There's absolutely nowhere for the water to go," he said. Galveston Bay, where normal rain runs off to, will already be elevated.

Rain was expected to extend into Louisiana, driven by counter-clockwise winds that could carry water from the Gulf of Mexico far inland. Forecasts called for as much as 15 inches in southwest Louisiana over the next week, and up to 6 inches in the New Orleans area.

Harvey was the first significant hurricane to hit Texas since Ike in September 2008 brought winds of 110 mph (177 kph) to the Galveston and Houston areas, inflicting $22 billion in damage.

It took aim at the same vicinity as Carla, which had wind gusts estimated at 175 mph and inflicted more than $300 million in damage. The storm killed 34 people and forced about 250,000 people to evacuate.

Families evacuate Texas and fly into Charlotte ahead of storm 

Families flying into Charlotte Douglas International Airport Thursday night from Houston said the airport in the most populous Texas city was packed with people in hurry to leave.

"All the flights were full, stuff like that,” a traveler said. “Everyone watching the TV, monitoring.”

People in the Lone Star state are stocking up on essentials to prepare for what could be the strongest hurricane in more than a decade.

“There was no water in any of the grocery stores,” a flyer said. “They were pretty much cleared out. All the bread, all the necessities are pretty much gone."

Jamin Klein's family is still in Houston, but he's in South Carolina this weekend to finish moving.

He is nervous for everyone back home.

“I am worried about the flooding and the people that are there,” Klein said. “Hopefully, everybody is safe.”

As people flee the storm, rescue organizations are flying to it.

Samaritan's Purse in Boone is heading toward the heavy rain to help people in need.

“Our prayers are for all these families in that path," Luther Harrison, vice president of North American Ministries, said.

The Latest: Woman with heart problems makes it to safety

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (AP) - The Latest on Tropical Storm Harvey (Sunday, all times local):

5:20 p.m.

Patricia Cain entered the George R. Brown Convention Center barefoot and carrying two oxygen tanks. The first was empty. The second was given to her by the Houston Fire Department after the U.S. Coast Guard rescued her from her home.

She suffers from congestive heart failure - when the heart's pumping power is weaker than normal - and other illnesses. Her son, William, and 9-year-old grandson were waiting for her inside. Both were barefoot as well.

William Cain says the water outside their home was in some spots several feet high. He says, "I live in a lake where there was once dry land." Water had started to come into their apartment, and they had already lost power.

Asked if he wishes he'd have evacuated, Cain laughed and walked away. He said: "That's a no-brainer, brother."

The city of Houston opened the convention center Sunday to people fleeing the flooding from Tropical Storm Harvey.

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5:10 p.m.

Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott says he hasn't yet spoken to Democratic Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner - despite repeated attempts.

Abbott said Sunday at an Austin news conference he'd called Tuner's cell phone "several times" to "let him know that, whatever he needs, the state of Texas will provide." Abbott said he'd yet to hear back.

Abbott's office later clarified that the governor had called Turner four times since Friday and left two messages, to no avail.

The governor and mayor clashed before Hurricane Harvey made landfall Friday, with Abbott suggesting people in Houston might want to evacuate but Turner saying fleeing unnecessarily would clog highways for those leaving other communities facing bigger threats.

Still, Abbott said Sunday, "We've moved beyond whether or not there should have been an evacuation."

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5 p.m.

Officials in Dallas say they'll open the city's convention center to about 5,000 people who are fleeing from the hurricane-ravaged southern part of the state.

Officials say the Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center will open to evacuees on Tuesday morning. Dallas has three shelters currently open for evacuees, but the convention center will serve as a "mega shelter."

City Office of Emergency Management Director Rocky Vaz says the state made a formal request to open the convention center, which should be ready by early Tuesday morning.

The city, Red Cross, Dallas County, Parkland Hospital, the Salvation Army, Children's Hospital and other volunteer groups are coordinating the logistics of getting the shelter ready.

The city opened a third smaller shelter about 4:30 p.m. Sunday. About 415 evacuees are staying at the two other shelters, where they will remain for the time being

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4:55 p.m.

The National Hurricane Center is urging residents in southeast Texas to stay put as Harvey inches south on a track that forecasters say will bring it back into the Gulf of Mexico for some slight strengthening before returning into Texas again.

Harvey continues to be a tropical storm with 40 mph winds. In its late afternoon update Sunday, the center forecasts Harvey will reach the coast late Monday and spend much of Tuesday over water, where it could increase wind strength to 45 mph (72 kph).

Forecasters think Harvey will come inland Wednesday with a path over Houston by the afternoon and then diminish in strength as it heads deeper into Texas and northern Louisiana.

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4:30 p.m.

The evacuation of Houston's main public hospital hasn't begun yet because it is surrounded by waist-deep water as a result of Tropical Storm Harvey.

Bryan McLeod is a spokesman for Harris Health System. He said Sunday that minor flooding in the basement of Ben Taub Hospital and a busted sewer pipe forced officials to close the kitchen. McLeod says the flooding resulted in only a small amount of water in the basement and did not affect the hospital's power supply. But shutting down the kitchen leaves the hospital with a limited supply of dry food for patients.

McLeod says the evacuations won't start until the water recedes from around the facility and will likely take several days. The hospital is part of the Texas Medical Center, and has 350 patients.

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3:50 p.m.

Nearly a quarter of Texas' population lives in areas covered by a federal disaster declaration as a result of Tropical Storm Harvey.

Gov. Greg Abbott says 18 counties are now covered by the disaster declaration approved by President Donald Trump. There are nearly 7 million people in those counties, including the nation's fourth-largest city of Houston. Texas has a population of 27.8 million.

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3:45 p.m.

Police say a sinkhole has opened on a Texas highway about 25 miles (40 kilometers) southwest of Houston as Tropical Storm Harvey dumps more rain on the region.

Rosenberg police on Sunday tweeted a photo of the gaping hole that spread across more than half of a two-lane highway - Farm-to-Market 762.

Water could be seen filling the sinkhole as pieces of highway asphalt hung from the edge of the damaged roadway.

Rosenberg police did not immediately provide additional details on the sinkhole, other than urging drivers to avoid the area. Police cars blocked off the highway.

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3:30 p.m.

President Donald Trump will travel to hurricane-ravaged Texas on Tuesday.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders tells reporters the White House is still coordinating logistics with state and local officials.

She adds: "We continue to keep all of those affected in our thoughts and prayers."

Tropical Storm Harvey sent devastating floods pouring into Houston on Sunday. Rising water chased some people to rooftops or higher ground and overwhelmed rescuers.

Trump has been praising the government's response to the storm on Twitter.

He tweeted earlier Sunday that he would be traveling to Texas as soon as he could go "without causing disruption."

He said: "The focus must be life and safety."

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3 p.m.

An official says all 22 of Harris County's watersheds have spilled over their banks due to Tropical Storm Harvey. Watersheds are creeks and bayous that take water away from the Houston area and eventually drain it into Galveston Bay.

Harris County Flood Control District Meteorologist Jeff Lindner says over half of the watersheds are experiencing record flooding.

Lindner said even with the rain starting to decrease a little bit, the sheer volume of water that has fallen is going to take time to run off.

He says it may take until Sunday night or well into Monday or even Tuesday "to get the water out of these areas that have been impacted so hard."

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2:30 p.m.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott says that the number of counties declared federal disaster areas from Tropical Storm Harvey and its aftermath has increased to 18.

Abbott said Sunday 12 counties have been added to an earlier federal disaster list of six. He said President Donald Trump has approved the increase in counties.

Also, 50 counties have already been declared state disaster zones, 30 earlier in the week and 20 on Saturday. Abbott says the counties under the federal and state declarations include Harris County, which encompasses Houston and has been experiencing severe flooding from torrential rains.

2:20 p.m.

Several hundred people have arrived at the downtown convention center the city of Houston has converted into a shelter after floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey inundated much of the city.

Ken Sandy has been designated shelter manager by the Red Cross. He said Sunday that his volunteers are prepared for 1,000 people at the George R. Brown Convention Center, and the center is big enough for them to expand if necessary. The center has 1.8 million square feet (0.17 million sq. meters) of space.

Volunteers are handing out towels to people entering the cavernous center. Cots have not yet arrived.

Authorities across Houston and surrounding Harris County are quickly opening shelters as the full toll of the flooding becomes clear and thousands of people evacuate their homes.

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2:15 p.m.

A Harris County official is asking members of the public who have a boat or a high water vehicle to help with efforts to rescue Houston residents whose homes have flooded in the torrential rains brought by Tropical Storm Harvey.

Harris County Judge Ed Emmett said at a news conference Sunday that the additional boats and vehicles that Texas is sending to the Houston area are not able to get to the area due to flooded roadways. He adds that vehicles the state previously sent are already being used to help rescue individuals.

Emmett, who oversees government operations in Harris County, where Houston is located, says, "We desperately need boats and high water vehicles ... We can't wait for assets to come from outside."

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2 p.m.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott says the state has now activated 3,000 National Guard and State Guard members as a result of severe damage and flooding from Hurricane Harvey. Along with the guard, he says 500 vehicles and 14 aircraft have been put into service.

Abbott said there are no 250 highway closures around Texas.

He spoke at a news conference at the state emergency response center in Austin.

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1:35 p.m.

President Donald Trump met by teleconference Sunday with top administration officials as rescue workers continue to respond to rising flood waters from Hurricane Harvey.

The White House says Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, members of Trump's Cabinet and other senior officials discussed federal support for response and recovery efforts.

The White House says Trump stressed his expectation that "all departments and agencies stay fully committed to supporting the governors of Texas and Louisiana" and that his "number one priority of saving lives."

Rising floodwaters from Harvey have forced thousands of people to rooftops or higher ground in Houston, overwhelming rescuers.

Trump announced Sunday he's planning a trip to Texas soon

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1:20 p.m.

Both major airports in Houston have been closed amid severe flooding blamed on Tropical Storm Harvey.

A Houston Airport System statement at midday Sunday said George Bush Intercontinental Airport and Hobby Airport are closed to commercial flights until further notice.

Officials say roads in and out of both airports are shut down due to flooding.

Hurricane Harvey made landfall late Friday night along the Texas coast about 230 miles southwest of Houston, but it wasn't until late Saturday night that what became Tropical Storm Harvey began bringing torrential rains causing flooding to the Houston area.

The airport system's website says Bush Intercontinental Airport is 23 miles north of downtown Houston and provides service via 29 passenger airlines.

Hobby Airport is 7 miles south of downtown Houston and is served by four passenger airlines.

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1 p.m.

Many of the people arriving at the George R. Brown Convention Center, which has been opened as a shelter for people fleeing flooding, are from a public housing complex about a mile north.

Clayton Homes public housing complex is bounded on one side by Interstate 45 and the other by Buffalo Bayou, which has flooded heavily along with all of Houston's major waterways. Police are using boats to evacuate many of the residents and bring them to the convention center in pickup trucks.

D'Ona Spears and Brandon Polson walked with their five children Sunday, bags full of belongings, and their 7-year-old Chihuahua, Missy. They decided to leave once the water in the first story of their home reached their knees.

Spears says that when they made it to the convention center, they sent their children inside to eat, but stayed outside with their Chihuahua because animals were not allowed inside.

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner announced earlier Sunday that the convention center would serve as a shelter for people fleeing the flooding.

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12:40 p.m.

Harris County Judge Ed Emmett says that Ben Taub Hospital, the county's public hospital, is being evacuated because flooding problems in the basement are disrupting power service.

Emmett overseas government operations in Harris County where Houston is located. He tells a news conference that evacuated patients are being taken to other area hospitals. It was not immediately known how many patients were being moved.

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12:30 p.m.

Coast Guard Capt. Kevin Oditt (OH'-dit) says helicopters have rescued more than 100 people in the Houston area as Tropical Storm Harvey floods numerous neighborhoods.

In a conference call Sunday with reporters, Oditt says Coast Guard personnel and aircraft from around the country have been dispatched to Texas. He says Texas Air National Guard choppers were also assisting with rescues.

Oditt says people facing rising floodwaters should not go into attics, since rescuers in the air cannot see them. The incident commander urged people who head to their rooftops to wave sheets, towels or anything else to attract the attention of helicopter crews.

Coast Guard helicopter crews along the southern portion of the Texas coast are reporting the rescue of almost 40 people, starting from the morning before Hurricane Harvey made landfall. That includes six people rescued from their home Saturday evening in the hard-hit city of Aransas Pass. Among them were three children, their two parents and an elderly woman who was in need of oxygen.

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12:05 p.m.

The National Weather Service now says some parts of Houston and just west of the city may receive a Texas record of 50 inches (1270 millimeters) of rain as Tropical Storm Harvey stalls over Texas.

NWS meteorologist Patrick Burke says rainfall totals will end up around 40 inches (1016 millimeters) or more for Houston on average, but some isolated spots will hit or exceed 50 inches.

Burkes says, "We're in kind of unprecedented territory with this storm."

Local rainfall amounts of 50 inches would exceed any previous Texas rainfall record. The NWS says in a statement that "the breadth and intensity of this rainfall is beyond anything experienced before and is resulting in catastrophic flooding."

So far rainfall totals since Thursday evening have reached about 25 inches (635 millimeters) in south Houston. In Dayton, located 38 miles (61kilometers) northeast of Houston, rainfall has already reached 27 inches (685 millimeters).

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11 a.m.

Residents of a South Texas city who evacuated before Harvey made landfall on the Texas coast as a hurricane are being warned not to return unless they bring their own food and water.

Officials with Victoria, about 90 miles north of Rockport, near where Harvey came ashore Friday night, said Sunday on Facebook that the city of 85,000 has no water service and limited power.

The statement says Harvey had a "devastating" impact on Victoria and it could be weeks before all electric service is restored.

The city statement says: "For those that decide to come back to Victoria, bring enough food and water to last three to four days. Be sure you have enough gas in your car to last several days. Be prepared for no electricity at your home for several days or weeks."

A mandatory evacuation was ordered for Victoria County, where the city is located.

Bryan Simons, spokesman for the Victoria County sheriff's office, says, "We've got widespread damage. Lots of trees down, power lines. We've got traffic lights missing and lots of debris."

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10:30 a.m.

Houston Fire Chief Samuel Pena says that since midnight his agency has responded to more than 2,500 emergency calls and another 1,000 calls are waiting to be serviced.

Pena says his agency has made more than 250 water rescues, all of them people in vehicles, during a three hour period overnight.

But Houston Assistant Police Chief Larry Satterwhite says there has been an increase in calls from residents with flooded homes in the city's northeast, southeast and southwest sections.

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10:15 a.m.

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner is defending his decision not to ask residents to evacuate before the heavy rain from Tropical Storm Harvey swamped roads and neighborhoods across the nation's fourth-largest city.

Turner says at a news conference Sunday that there was no way to pinpoint which neighborhoods would be worst hit. He says every neighborhood has received at least some flooding.

He says, "If you think the situation right now is bad and you give an order to evacuate, you are creating a nightmare."

Turner asked people to stay in their homes and not drive if at all possible. Houston Fire Chief Samuel Pena says authorities have made more than 250 vehicle rescues in the storm.

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10:05 a.m.

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner says emergency personnel have responded to more than 2,000 calls to 911 for rescues in the wake of Hurricane Harvey. He said priority was being given to life-threatening calls.

Turner also said at a news conference Sunday that he has ordered the downtown George R. Brown Convention Center opened as a shelter as floodwaters inundated much of the city.

Turner also urged people not to drive, as numerous streets and roadways in Houston, the nation's fourth largest city, were flooded Sunday.

The George R. Brown Convention Center has 1.8 million square feet of space.

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9:50 a.m.

A Catholic priest has used a kayak to get from his home in southeast Houston to higher ground and hoped to say Mass for people stranded on the streets.

Father David Bergeron says that he tried to buy some wine for Mass at a convenience store but couldn't because sales are prohibited in Texas on Sunday before noon.

Bergeron tells television station KTRK that: "this is how America was evangelized - by canoe."

He says that he is praying for people affected by Tropical Storm Harvey.

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9:40 a.m.

Staff at a Houston television station broadcasting live coverage of Tropical Storm Harvey had to evacuate after water from nearby flood-prone Buffalo Bayou started to gush into the building.

KHOU-TV tweeted images Sunday of water pushing through a front door and flooding the lobby. Other images showed sand bags placed against another door had failed to stop the water that was already ankle deep.

Floodwaters around 6:30 a.m. Sunday began seeping into the first-floor studio of KHOU, which is the CBS affiliate in the nation's fourth largest city. The anchors and news operations then moved to a second floor as live coverage of Harvey continued.

Later tweets say the station was being evacuated due to flooding.

The station last flooded in 2001 during Tropical Storm Allison.

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9:35 a.m.

Harris County sheriff's spokesman Jason Spencer says flooding throughout the county that includes Houston and the region is so widespread that it's "difficult to pinpoint the worst area."

He says authorities are prioritizing hundreds of phones calls for help to ensure life-and-death situations "are at the top of the list."

"It's heartbreaking," he says.

Spencer says the department has high-water vehicles and airboats but "certainly not enough." He says officials are encouraged that rescue teams from the National Guard and state agencies have also been deployed.

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9:25 a.m.

The head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency says Hurricane Harvey is a "landmark event" and the federal agency will be in the areas worst affected "for years."

Brock Long says nearly 5,000 people from the federal government are doing search and rescue missions, helping to restore power and supporting what he calls "mass care missions."

Speaking Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union," Long said: "We expect a huge mass care mission today, of people flocking to shelters, if they can get to shelters."

Associated Press