As floodwaters begin to recede in Houston, the extent of damage is becoming more clear. The death toll from the storm is up to 39 people, and more than 1 million residents in the path of the storm were displaced from their homes.
A report from ABC News claims 20 trillion gal of rain fell on Houston following Hurricane Harvey’s landfall, and Texas Gov. Greg Abbot said the state will look for federal aid in excess of $125 billion in response to the disaster.
The city of Beaumont, Texas is feeling the worst of the flooding. Isolated by swollen rivers after 47 in. of rainfall, the city-turned-inland-island no longer has running water as the municipal plant shut down its pumps, leaving almost 120,000 people without water Thursday.
According to a report from the New York Times, Kyle Hayes, Beaumont city manager, could not provide an update on when water would return to homes until the flood waters recede. The extent of damage to pumps and the water treatment plant are not clear either, and Hayes said Saturday would be the earliest expected time to inspect the plant.
In addition to the problems in Beaumont, state figures indicate almost 150,000 water connections are on boil orders. The New York Times report states nearly 32,000 of those connections were in Victoria, Texas.
