A FLOTILLA evacuates terrified locals in Houston amid fears for hundreds trapped after Hurricane Harvey burst two dams.
Homes were already flooded in the Texas city — America’s fourth-biggest — when torrents from reservoirs engulfed them.
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At least 15 people have been killed in Hurricane Harvey as a family-of-six was reportedly swept out and a tree fell on a womanCredit: Getty Images - Getty
Residents use their boats to evacuate flood waters just east of HoustonCredit: Reuters
A family of six who were driving across a bridge were last night thought to be among at least 15 killed.
Shattered Virginia Saldivar told how her four grandkids in the van were swept away.
She said: “I’m just hoping we find the bodies.”
Emergency lines were getting 1,000 calls an hour begging for help. At least 17,000 were homeless.
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Even though the family-of-six are feared dead, the authorities have only confirmed eight deaths so farCredit: AP:Associated Press
The woman, from Porter, Texas, was napping on Monday when the tree fellCredit: AP:Associated Press
Emergency lines were getting 1,000 calls an hour begging for help. At least 17,000 were homeless.
The stricken city’s police chief Art Acevedo said grimly after a levee holding back lakes also broke: “I’m really worried about how many bodies we’re going to find.”
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No bodies have been identified and Houston police chief Art Acevedo said he was "really worried about how many bodies we're going to find"Credit: EPA
Donald Trump and First Lady Melania on their way to Texas to assess the federal government's response to the floodingCredit: AP:Associated Press
Donald Trump said the US will "come out stronger than before" after Hurricane Harvey killed six and left thousands more strandedCredit: Sky News
Hurricane experts say that by the end of the week the continuing deluge from Harvey will have dumped a colossal 4ft of water.
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Donald Trump and wife Melania yesterday visited Corpus Christi and Austin — two Texas cities also hit.
A little boy lies under tarpaulin as Hurricane Harvey leaves many families strandedCredit: Facebook
Families, some with young children, appealed for rescue on social media as the floodwaters hitCredit: Facebook
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Hurricane Harvey inundated the Texas Gulf coast with rain causing widespread flooding - including downtown HoustonCredit: Reuters
A storm-damaged home in the Key Allegro neighbourhood in RockportCredit: Rex Features
Smoke and flames rise from a building in HoustonCredit: Alamy Live News
Rockport was hit by 130mph windsCredit: The Mega Agency
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OAPs in a care home in Dickinson, Texas, sat waist-deep in water as Hurricane Harvey flooded their home
People look at submerged cars on a freeway flooded by Tropical Storm HarveyCredit: AP:Associated Press
The sum of money to fix the damage will be astronomicalCredit: AFP or licensors
Mari Zertuche walks through a flooded parking lot on the campus of Rice UniversityCredit: Getty Images - Getty
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A victim in a wheelchair is air lifted to safety in HoustonCredit: Getty Images - Getty
A rescue helicopter hovers in the background as an elderly woman and her poodle use an air mattress to floatCredit: Reuters
Corey Carpenter, 7, eats crackers in what used to be his cousin's garden in Bayside, TexasCredit: AP:Associated Press
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A man floats past a truck submerged on a freeway in HoustonCredit: AP:Associated Press
A US Coast Guard helicopter crew rescue one of five people from floodwaters in a southeastern Houston neighbourhoodCredit: EPA
Damaged buildings taken during an flight from Port Aransas to Port O'ConnorCredit: EPA
Drivers were forced to leave their vehicles in the waterCredit: Getty Images - Getty
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President Trump has declared the natural disaster a federal emergencyCredit: AFP or licensors
A Coast Guard flood punt team staff help rescue residents from flooded areasCredit: EPA
Houston is facing the worst storm in the Texas state historyCredit: AFP or licensors
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Fort Bend County Sheriff Troy Nehls and Lucas Wu lift Ethan Wu into an airboatCredit: AP:Associated Press
New Orleans, where Hurricane Katrina killed 1,800 in 2005, was on tenterhooks as Harvey headed its way.
The one hope was that it had been downgraded to a tropical storm.
The natural disaster has dumped as much as 66cm of rain in some countiesCredit: Getty Images - Getty
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A man checks his phone as he cycles through knee-deep waterCredit: Getty Images - Getty
Pictured, Sterling Broughton is moved from a rescue boat on to a kayak in Dikinson, TexasCredit: Reuters
Five people have died in the natural disaster, which has left 1,000 more strandedCredit: Reuters
Emergency crews raced to pull people from cars and homes as the Category Four hurricane caused chest-deep flooding on some streets in HoustonCredit: AP:Associated Press
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Pictured, a pensioner is rescued from her home in Brays Bayou, Texas, as the flood water continues to riseCredit: AP:Associated Press
Houston officials urge people to shelter in place and stay off flooded roadwaysCredit: EPA
A dog is walked to safety in the plush River Oaks neighbourhood in HoustonCredit: Getty Images - Getty
The damage will take years to recover from , officials have warnedCredit: Reuters
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A pick up truck is towed out of a flooded ditch in HoustonCredit: EPA
The state has been hit by record levels of rainfallCredit: AP:Associated Press
A man uses a kayak to navigate a flooded streetCredit: Getty Images - Getty
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HOW MUCH WILL IT COST?
Damages from Harvey, the hurricane and tropical storm ravaging Houston and the Texas Gulf Coast, are estimated to be well below those from major storms that have hit New Orleans and New York.
Hannover Re, one of the world's largest reinsurers, said that insured losses for Katrina in 2005 were around $80 billion, while losses for Sandy in 2012 were $36 billion.
"We are far from Katrina and Sandy in magnitude in the case of Hurricane Harvey," a spokeswoman for the company said.
Harvey was set to dump more rain on Houston on Monday, worsening flooding that has paralysed the United States' fourth-biggest city, forced thousands to flee and swollen rivers to levels not seen in centuries.
Schools, airports and office buildings in Houston, home to about 2.3 million people, were ordered shut todayCredit: Getty Images - Getty
Pets are evacuated from flood waters from Hurricane Harvey in Dickinson, Texas
Residents were forced to flee their homes as 130 mile an hour winds made way for Biblical floods across large swathes of the Lone Star stateCredit: Getty Images - Getty
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Mario Qua holds his daughter Wilson as they evacuate their flooded homeCredit: Getty Images - Getty
Emergency crews raced to pull people from cars and homes as the hurricane caused chest-deep flooding on some streets in HoustonCredit: Reuters
Weather experts say Harvey, now a tropical storm rather than a hurricane, is swirling stationary near San Antonio, Texas, dumping vast amounts of rainfall over much of the stateCredit: Rex Features
A damaged car sits outside a heavily damaged apartment complex in Rockport, Texas, after Hurricane Harvey struck the areaCredit: AP:Associated Press
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A multi-level storage facility for boats was completely destroyed by Hurricane Harvey at RockportCredit: AFP or licensors
A helicopter flies over a destroyed apartment complex after Hurricane Harvey passed throughCredit: Getty Images - Getty
A beach cabin looks over the remains of their home Saturday after fire destroyed it and two othersCredit: AP:Associated Press
Mobile homes are upended in the Paradise Lagoons RV Resort in Aransas Pass, TexaCredit: AFP or licensors
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Toppled boats hang in the debris of a boat storage facility that was damaged by Hurricane HarveyCredit: Getty Images - Getty
Lisa Rehr hugs her four-year old son Maximus as they await to be evacuated after losing their home to Hurricane Harvey in RockportCredit: Reuters
A motorhome lies flipped on it's side near Victoria, TexasCredit: AFP or licensors
Damage left behind by a tornado that spun off of Hurricane Harvey after the storm made landfall on the Texas Gulf coastCredit: Reuters
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Panicked sailors wait to be rescued as their boat sinks during Hurricane HarveyCredit: Reuters
A man rests on an inflatable swan during intense floodsCredit: AP:Associated Press
Power to around 230,000 people has been cut offCredit: Reuters
A smashed traffic light lies across the road after being knocked down in heavy windCredit: AP:Associated Press
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Lorries have been tossed across roads like toys in 130mph windsCredit: AP:Associated Press
Vast flooding is threatening large swathes of TexasCredit: Reuters
A massive emergency response is underway to help coordinate evacuations and treatmentCredit: AP:Associated Press
In Texas, pensioners and the disabled — some in wheelchairs — were airlifted from floods.
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They included 15 residents at a nursing home in Dickinson, rescued after a picture of them sat waist-deep in rising water went viral around the world.
Floods have swept across much of TexasCredit: EPA
Steve Culver cries with his dog Otis as he talks about what he said was the, "most terrifying event in his life," when Hurricane Harvey blew in and destroyed most of his homeCredit: Getty Images - Getty
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The roof of a petrol station sits in flood waters in the wake of Hurricane Harvey in Aransas, TexasCredit: AP
A car moves through floodwaters in Aransas Pass, TexasCredit: AP
This trailer was overturned due to the force of Hurricane Harvey, which has caused havoc in TexasCredit: AP
Hurricane Harvey rolled over the Texas Gulf Coast on Saturday, smashing homes and businesses and lashing the shore with wind and rainCredit: AP
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A tree was thrown across the road in Corpus Christi, Texas as the Category 4 storm made landfall on Friday nightCredit: AP:Associated Press
There has been extensive damage across south east Texas as winds of up of 130mph ripped through the regionCredit: Reuters
Police in Texas warned of alligators being swept up and dumped on residential streets as floods sweep across the stateCredit: FBCSO Texas
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Residents prepared by boarding up their windows as the governor ordered an evacuation of low-lying areasCredit: Rex Features
Winds picked up yesterday afternoon as the storm ramped up to a Category 4Credit: AP:Associated Press
The storm has destroyed a school in the town of Rockport as intense winds ripped off roofsCredit: Reuters
Hurricane Harvey hit Corpus Christi on the Texas coast on Friday night
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Hurricane Harvey is pictured off the coast of Texas from aboard the International Space Station
The storm sweeping through Texas has caused extensive infrastructure damageCredit: EPA
Parts of buildings have flown off in the high windsCredit: Getty Images - Getty
Trees have been uprooted by the force of the stormCredit: Getty Images - Getty
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The full extent of the damage is yet to be assessedCredit: Getty Images - Getty
South east Texas was battered by high winds as Harvey made landfall on Friday nightCredit: AFP or licensors
Flood levels at an alligator farm added to panic yesterday. Boss Gary Suarage told how the water was close to the top of barriers penning 350 of the beasts.
A satellite image showed the scale of Hurricane Harvey as it approached TexasCredit: EPA
Biblical floods are now predicted across TexasCredit: AFP
Craig "Cajun" Uggen, 57, was trapped in his truck as Hurricane Harvey came ashore in Corpus Christi, Texas
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A truck almost overturns in high windsCredit: AP:Associated Press
Residents boarded up shops and homes as they pleaded with the storm to 'be nice'Credit: AP:Associated Press
Hurricane Harvey pictured off the Gulf of Mexico as it moved towards TexasCredit: AP:Associated Press
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Shelves have been stripped bare as people buy food and water while they wait out the stormCredit: AP:Associated Press
Shoppers were filmed grabbing water from stores as they rush to build up their supplies
Heavy traffic as cars flee from the storm
People sit with their packed up belongings as they evacuated from their homesCredit: AP:Associated Press
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