Thousands flee Texas towns flooded by Harvey

One week after monster storm Harvey slammed into the Gulf Coast, rescue workers on Friday were scouring storm-ravaged southeast Texas for victims trapped in their flooded homes, even as some towns finally found slight relief as waters receded.

Emergency workers were staging dramatic rescues by air and water in Texas towns that were until now cut off by raging floodwaters unleashed by Harvey, which finally began moving inland after crashing into the region as a Category Four hurricane last Friday.

Thousands of rescuers and civilians, eager to help, battled difficult conditions to reach victims of the unprecedented flooding.

"We felt we'd be alright. We were wrong," said Lonnie Givens, who refused to evacuate his one-story home in the town of Orange. Now, he and wife Missy have about four inches (10 centimetres) of water in the house and no power.

"We really got nowhere to go," Givens said.

His situation echoed those of many in Texas towns inundated by days of torrential rains, with highways still submerged and homes destroyed.

A hospital in the hard-hit town of Beaumont was forced to evacuate its patients -- nearly 200 people -- when the town's water supply went down.

Harvey has been blamed thus far for at least 38 deaths and tens of billions of dollars of damage. A lack of power also triggered twin blasts at a Texas chemical plant, but authorities said the danger was limited.

Meanwhile, Hurricane Irma had intensified into a Category 3 system, churning in open waters but heading straight toward the southern Caribbean, where it was forecast to reach early next week.

It was still too early to tell if the storm currently packing 115 miles (185 kilometres) per hour winds would impact Florida or the Gulf of Mexico, but anxiety was running high in the aftermath of Harvey's pummeling.

Homeland Security Adviser Tom Bossert estimated 100,000 homes had been affected by flooding -- some with 2.5 metres of water or more -- and said the White House would ask Congress for emergency funds.

TRT World's Jon Brain has more.

Up to $75 billion in damage

In Louisiana, authorities scrambled to safeguard their state from Harvey, whose onslaught evoked painful memories of Hurricane Katrina's deadly strike 12 years ago -- but New Orleans escaped with minimal rain.

So far, parts of Texas have seen more than 50 inches (1.27 meters) of rain, while in Louisiana, the total neared 24 inches.

More than 30,000 people have found refuge in shelters across Texas, from the giant Houston convention centre to small churches, according to FEMA.

In Houston, where Mayor Sylvester Turner issued a nighttime curfew to aid search efforts and thwart potential looting, the two major airports have reopened on a limited basis, signalling a slow return to normality.

In Texas, the storm damage is staggering -- Enki Research put its "best estimate" cost at between $48 billion and $75 billion.

A senior Trump administration official said the White House has prepared a request to Congress for an initial $ 5.9 billion package in Harvey recovery aid.
The plan will be sent to Congress on Friday and House and Senate votes appear likely next week. The official was not authorised to release the information publicly before a final decision is made and spoke on condition of anonymity.