Harvey: Leave Now, Houston Mayor Tells People In Flooded Homes

HOUSTON, TX — Mayor Sylvester Turner on Friday told hold-outs stubbornly staying in their flooded Houston homes that they're putting a strain on emergency services with requests for food, water and other supplies, and should let first responders take them to shelters. The residents living primarily in west Houston were trapped in their homes by rising floodwaters from the Addicks Reservoir.

Flooding in the area isn't likely to subside for 10 or 15 days, Turner said in emphasizing that remaining in their flooded homes poses a safety risk to both themselves and first responders. (Want to get daily updates about Hurricane Harvey and other events going on in your area? Sign up for the free Houston Patch morning newsletter.)

“If you have water currently in your home, I am going to encourage you in the strongest of terms to leave your homes,” Turner said at the Friday news conference. “To remain in your home for the next 10 to 15 days in not in your best interest, and it’s not in the best interest of our first responders.”

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Officials said homeowners who are living with water in their homes run the risk of being injured in some other way, and evacuating now would relieve the stress on first responders, firefighters and police, who are already stretched to the limit by seven continuous days of rescue operations

“Flood waters in the homes is a hazardous situation. There’s dangers of electrocution, there’s danger of structural compromise. It is not a safe place to remain,” Fire Chief Sam Pena said. “We strongly encourage you to seek alternate places to say, for the next two weeks.”

The flooded homes Turner addressed specifically are located west of Gessner in northwest Houston and were in the direct path of the Addicks Reservoir flooding, brought on by both controlled releases and the uncontrolled release of water when the reservoir reached capacity on Tuesday.

The controlled releases were based on the advice of the Army Corps of Engineers, which said letting water out of the swollen reservoir incrementally would lessen the chance of more catastrophic flooding in Houston in the event of a heavy rain event, Turner said.

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Harris County Flood Control District Meteorologist Jeff Linder said that while a lot of the water remains in many areas, it is beginning to recede and the releases appear to have relieved pressure on the reservoirs.

“As long as the reservoirs continue to release at the current rate, Buffalo Bayou is not going to go down much,” Linder said. “If you think you can hold out in some of those homes until the water goes down; that’s probably an unlikely scenario. It’s time to get out. The water is going to stay up for a long period of time.”

At the news conference Friday, Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo said it's not practical for police, firefighters, and first responders to act as “a water taxi service” for those who wanted to remain in areas that are still impassable.

Some people may be staying in their homes to protect them from looters, Acevedo said, emphasizing the affected areas will be kept under constant surveillance from the air.

“We’ve got a great plan, and it’s been working,” Acevedo said.

Photo: Residents in a neighborhood near the Barker Reservoir return to their homes to collect belongings August 31, 2017 in Houston, Texas. The neighborhoods surrounding the reservoir are still experiencing severe flooding due to the accumulation of historic levels of rainfall, though floodwaters are beginning to recede in many parts of the city. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

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