Rescue crews in Houston fear their mission will soon switch to recovering bodies once the rains ease and the emergency calls slow.
More than three days after Hurricane Harvey blasted ashore in Texas with 210kph winds, authorities have so far confirmed only three deaths but the number of reported or presumed dead is growing steadily, giving an unofficial death toll of 10.
Among them are six members of the same family, missing after their van was swept away.
President Donald Trump is due to visit Texas on Tuesday to survey the damage, with 30,000 people forced from their homes and more days of rain forecast.
Officials say they are already worried about they will find when the water recedes.
Art Acevedo, Houston police chief, said: “We know in these kind of events that, sadly, the death toll goes up historically.
“I'm really worried about how many bodies we're going to find."
Those confirmed dead include a woman who was crushed when a tree, its roots loosened by flood water, fell on to her trailer home in the small town of Porter on Monday.
Waters were still rising in Houston on Tuesday as one of the most destructive storms in American history continued to dump rain across Texas and the neighouring state of Louisiana. Radar images suggested New Orleans, he city that was hit so hard by Huicane Katrina in 2005, was next in line.
Forecasters say another 60cm of rain is still possible on top of the 76cm already experienced in some places, bringing flooding on an epic scale.
The head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) said he expected more than 450,000 people to apply for federal assistance and officials say 30,000 people have already been taken into shelters.
Greg Abbott, governor of Texas, described it as “one of the largest disasters America has ever faced”. He was among a number of local and federal officials who said the recovery would take years. “We need to recognise it will be a new normal, a new and different normal for this entire region,” he said.
Countless families are already trying to deal with a new normal of ruined homes or missing loved ones.
Virginia Salvidar fears six members of her family, including four of her grandchildren, are dead after their van was swept off a bridge in East Houston during an escape attempt.
She said her brother-in-law, Samuel Salvidar, was driving the van on Sunday as he tried to take his parents and grandchildren to safety. But a current in the floodwaters took the van, pitching it into the river.
She described how Mr Saldivar managed to climb out of the window and urged the children — aged six to 16 — to escape through the back door but they could not manage to get out.
“I'm just hoping we find the bodies,” she said.
Mr Trump and the first lady were due to visit Texas to see the damage and rescue efforts for themselves.
Their schedule will take them to Corpus Christie, close to where Harvey made land, rather than Houston where their presence would be likely to divert resources from the mammoth emergency.
Speaking at a news conference the day before, Mr Trump struck a unifying tone.
“We are one American family,” he said. “We hurt together, we struggle together, and, believe me, we endure together. We are one family.”
He said protecting lives was his top priority and promised that his threats to shut down the federal government would not slow the arrival of recovery funds.
He said the core American characteristics of “strength, charity and resilience” were showing through in the disaster response. “We will get through this,” he said. “We will come out stronger and believe me we will be bigger, better, stronger than ever before.”
At the same time, there will be questions about whether more could have been done to prevent the disaster. Houston, with its rapid expansion, flat terrain and 2,735 kilometres of creeks, streams and bayous, is notoriously flood prone. And, as Harvey barrelled toward the shore, the mayor and governor gave conflicting advice on whether to evacuate.
The UN weather agency also said the huge volume of rainfall from Tropical Storm Harvey was probably linked to increased moisture in the atmosphere as a result of global warming.
“Climate change means that when we do have an event like Harvey, the rainfall amounts are likely to be higher than they would have been otherwise,” said Clare Nullis, spokeswoman for the World Meteorological Organisation. The US National Weather Service had to introduce a new colour on its maps to indicate such high amounts of rain, she added.
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Read more:
Storm Harvey has shown the worst in Mother Nature but the best in people
Hurricane Harvey by numbers: 8 dead and 30,000 need shelter
The five pillars of Islam
THE BIO
Favourite car: Koenigsegg Agera RS or Renault Trezor concept car.
Favourite book: I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes or Red Notice by Bill Browder.
Biggest inspiration: My husband Nik. He really got me through a lot with his positivity.
Favourite holiday destination: Being at home in Australia, as I travel all over the world for work. It’s great to just hang out with my husband and family.
match info
Chelsea 2
Willian (13'), Ross Barkley (64')
Liverpool 0
RESULTS
6.30pm: Handicap (rated 95-108) US$125,000 2000m (Dirt).
Winner: Don’t Give Up, Gerald Mosse (jockey), Saeed bin Suroor (trainer).
7.05pm: Handicap (95 ) $160,000 2810m (Turf).
Winner: Los Barbados, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass.
7.40pm: Handicap (80-89) $60,000 1600m (D).
Winner: Claim The Roses, Mickael Barzalona, Salem bin Ghadayer.
8.15pm: UAE 2000 Guineas Trial (Div-1) Conditions $100,000 1,400m (D)
Winner: Gold Town, William Buick, Charlie Appleby.
8.50pm: Cape Verdi Group 2 $200,000 1600m (T).
Winner: Promising Run, Patrick Cosgrave, Saeed bin Suroor.
9.25pm: UAE 2000 Guineas Conditions $100,000 1,400m (D).
Winner: El Chapo, Luke Morris, Fawzi Nass.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Company Profile
Company name: Fine Diner
Started: March, 2020
Co-founders: Sami Elayan, Saed Elayan and Zaid Azzouka
Based: Dubai
Industry: Technology and food delivery
Initial investment: Dh75,000
Investor: Dtec Startupbootcamp
Future plan: Looking to raise $400,000
Total sales: Over 1,000 deliveries in three months
Read more about the coronavirus
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
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Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
The biog
Name: Marie Byrne
Nationality: Irish
Favourite film: The Shawshank Redemption
Book: Seagull by Jonathan Livingston
Life lesson: A person is not old until regret takes the place of their dreams
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl, 48V hybrid
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 325bhp
Torque: 450Nm
Price: Dh289,000
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
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Napoleon
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The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
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The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
JOKE'S%20ON%20YOU
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