President Trump declared a state of emergency for Louisiana as rains continue to pummel the region
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“We’re not out of the woods yet, not by a long shot” – those words from the US acting Homeland Security Secretary as Texas and Louisiana brace for worsening flooding in the coming days.
Hurricane Harvey has become a tropical storm but it is still expected to dump more record amounts of rain, adding to surging floodwaters and swollen rivers.
Brock Long from the Federal Emergency Management Agency said: “We’re expecting … based on this event … over 450,000 potential registers of disaster victims, that is a huge number but we are ready to go to process.
“We’ve already processed over nearly 15,000 calls over the last 24 hours of getting citizens registred.”
Some 30,000 people have fled to emergency shelters and at least two people have been killed.
The federal government is promising aid for victims of Harvey, the most powerful hurricane to hit Texas in more than 50 years.
President Trump also declared a state of emergency for Louisiana as rain continues to pummel the region.
Trump, who is expected to make a visit to the area this week, ordered more federal assistance for local rescue efforts.
The National Weather Service forecasts ‘days of dangerous flooding’ in both Texas and Louisiana.
Flood concerns are still growing with heavy rain spreading into parts of Louisiana. Never walk or drive into floodwaters. #TADD #Harvey https://t.co/vOyDxcVuRe
— NWS (@NWS) August 28, 2017