Hurricane Harvey has caused at least five deaths and more than a dozen injuries since it hit the Gulf Coast of Texas over the weekend. The National Weather Service described the impact as “unprecedented,” “unknown,” and “beyond anything experienced.”
“It’s catastrophic, unprecedented, epic — whatever adjective you want to use,” Patrick Blood, a meteorologist at NWS, told The Houston Chronicle.
This event is unprecedented & all impacts are unknown & beyond anything experienced. Follow orders from officials to ensure safety. #Harvey pic.twitter.com/IjpWLey1h8
— NWS (@NWS) August 27, 2017
As of Sunday evening, parts of Houston experienced between 25 to 27 inches of rain, while some rural areas experienced as much as 50 inches of rain.
Additionally, August 2017 set the record for the wettest month in Houston, beating the past record holder of 19.21 inches in June 2001.
The Chronicle reported that Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said law enforcement and fire officials received around 6,000 calls and rescued over 1,000 people. Most of those rescues were related to those trapped on their roofs or in their attics in southeast Houston. Texas Gov. Greg Abbot ordered 3,000 National and State Guard troops to aid affected areas of Houston.
“It breaks your heart,” Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo said via livestream on Twitter, as he stood in waist-high water in north Houston. “But it’s Texas, we’ll get through it.”