Houston: Hurricane Harvey, the most powerful to hit the US in 13 years, left a trail of destruction as it swept through Texas on Sunday, pummelling the region with heavy rains and claiming at least five lives since making landfall on the US'
Gulf Coast. After a night of flash flood and tornado watch, Houston woke up to a catastrophic morning, yet more life-threatening flash flooding, heavy downpour as rescuers answered desperate calls for help all along the ravaged Texas coastline.
The actual toll from Harvey remains unclear as rescuers were still trying to reach people stranded across the region.
But the National Weather Service (NWS) said five people lost their lives in the Houston area in unconfirmed flood- related deaths. Fourteen people have also been injured.
With winds topping 130 mph, Harvey is the first Category 4 storm to make landfall in the US on Saturday since Hurricane Charley struck Florida in 2004, and the first to hit Texas since Hurricane Carla in 1961. The hurricane dumped more than 20 inches of rain in the Houston area, causing "life-threatening catastrophic flooding" in southeastern Texas, The National Hurricane Centre reported.
President Donald Trump this morning tweeted his support for the rescue workers. "Great coordination between agencies at all levels of government," he said. "Continuing rains and flash floods are being dealt with. Thousands rescued."
"I will be going to Texas as soon as that trip can be made without causing disruption. The focus must be life and safety," he said in another tweet.
Earlier, authorities had reported two deaths that appeared to be related to the storm, one in the hart-hit coastal city of Rockport and another in Houston. The first fatality in Rockport was due to a house fire during the storm.