The widespread damage brought to the Houston area by one of the wettest tropical cyclones in US history came into broader view Saturday, as floodwaters receded to reveal the exhausting cleanup effort that lies ahead for many communities and homeowners.
Hundreds of homes and other buildings in the region, extending eastward from Houston and across the Louisiana border, were damaged by Imelda, as the one-time tropical storm slowly churned across the region, dumping more than 102 centimetres of rain in some spots and being blamed for at least five deaths.
Officials in Harris County, which is home to Houston, were trying to determine if millions of dollars in uninsured losses were enough to trigger a federal disaster declaration, Francisco Sanchez, a spokesman for the county's Office of Emergency Management, said Saturday.
Authorities raised the storm's death toll to five, saying it is believed to have killed a Florida man 52, who was found dead on Thursday in his stranded pickup truck along Interstate 10 near Beaumont, which is near the Texas border with Louisiana. Jefferson County spokeswoman Allison Getz said that although floodwaters seeped into Mark Dukaj's truck, investigators don't believe he drowned, though they do believe his death is storm-related. An autopsy will determine the cause.
-
Donnie McCulley paddles out from a flooded neighborhood caused by heavy rain spawned by Tropical Depression Imelda with an armadillo as a passenger. AP -
Splendora Police officer Mike Jones carries Ramiro Lopez Jr.'s dog, Panthea, from a boat after the officers rescued the family from their flooded neighborhood as rains from Tropical Depression Imelda inundated the area, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2019, in Splendora, Texas. AP -
A man tries to direct a school bus on the flooded Hopper Rd. on September 19, 2019 in Houston, Texas. Getty -
A boy on a bike rides in the flooded waters on Hopper Rd. on September 19, 2019 in Houston, Texas. Getty Images -
Cars are flooded as people walk though the flooded street of Little York on September 19, 2019 in Houston, Texas. AFP -
People wait outside of their stranded vehicles along Interstate 10 westbound at T.C Jester, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2019. The freeway is closed because of high water east bound on the freeway. (Mark Mulligan/Houston Chronicle via AP) -
People walk the flooded waters after heavy rain and flooding from the remnants of Tropical Depression Imelda dumped more than two feet of water across some areas. Getty -
Jim Dunagan moves his cattle to higher ground as remnants of Tropical Depression Imelda flood parts of Southeast Texas. Dunagan said his cattle were standing in water up to their stomachs before he and another man moved them to another pasture. He also said he thought the rain fell faster than it did during Hurricane Harvey, within a 24 hour to 48 hour period. AP
A section of the highway just east of Houston remained closed on Saturday after at least two runaway barges struck two bridges carrying eastbound and westbound traffic. Nearly 123,000 vehicles normally cross the bridges each day, according to the Texas Department of Transportation. The Coast Guard has said that witnesses reported early Friday that nine barges had broken away from their moorings at a shipyard.
Two barges remain lodged against the bridges, said Emily Black, a spokeswoman for the state Transportation Department.
"The current is really very strong right now so it's kind of pushed them up against the columns right now," she said.
Inspectors hope that the water will recede and the current will slow down enough for the barges to be removed this weekend so that a better assessment of the damage to the bridges can be made.
