Emergency crews raced on Sunday to try to rescue people who suddenly found themselves trapped as floodwaters kept rising across Houston and its surrounding areas on Sunday. The flooding in the nation’s fourth-largest city is worse than authorities had anticipated and very widespread as some parts have been pummeled with as much as 30 inches of rain. And things are bound to get worse over the next few days as the rain isn’t expected to stop anytime soon and the National Weather Service said some parts of the Houston area could get as much as 50 inches, which would mark a new record.
“The breadth and intensity of this rainfall is beyond anything experienced before,” the National Weather Service said in a statement that didn’t mince words. The head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Brock Long, predicted the agency would have to be involved for years to deal with Harvey’s aftermath. “This disaster’s going to be a landmark event,” Long said. Frustration was running high among Houston residents that could do nothing as their homes started to be filled up with water. Rescue workers are so overwhelmed with calls for help that authorities are asking residents to stay put, even if there is water inside their homes because staying put is usually safer than trying to brave the elements.
Here’s some of the dramatic footage that has hints at the devastation the city—and region—is facing:
