Hundreds feared cut off by floods as Harvey pushes east into Louisiana

storm

Hundreds of people were feared cut off by flood waters on Wednesday as tropical storm Harvey spared Houston overnight but moved east, inundating the industrial Texas cities of Beaumont and Port Arthur and making landfall again, coming to shore in south-west Louisiana.On Wednesday morning, the Harris County sheriff’s office confirmed two drowning deaths north of Houston, bringing the official death toll to 20 though there were reports by local officials of as many as 30 deaths. One victim was in a truck that was washed away and another was seen swimming in deep water. The toll was expected to rise. Jeff Lindner, a meteorologist with the Harris County flood control district, told the AP that in the Houston area, “the water levels are going down. And that’s for the first time in several days”. But in Port Arthur, near the coast, rescue teams struggled to reach desperate residents.(theguardian)…[+]