n maps: Houston and Texas flooding

Houston is battling to recover from devastating flooding caused by Hurricane Harvey, a category four storm which has dumped a record breaking amount of rain on the city in recent days.
At least 30 people are known to have died across Texas, while thousands of people have fled their homes to emergency shelters.
The rainfall in Texas has set a new record for the continental US, the National Weather Service has said. A rain gauge in Cedar Bayou recorded 51.88 inches (132 cm) of rain since Friday.
Almost a third of Harris County, part of the Houston metropolitan area and home to 4.6 million people, is reportedly underwater - an area 15 times the size of Manhattan.
Imagery from the TerraSAR-X radar satellite shows the extent of flooding.
The artificially blue-coloured areas show water detected before and after the storm.

INTERACTIVESee how flood waters caused by Hurricane Harvey have covered low-lying areas

After

Satellite image of Texas coastline after Hurricane Harvey showing flooding

Before

Satellite image of Texas coastline before Hurricane Harvey

Relief effort in Houston

Police have rescued some 3,500 people from floodwater in the Houston area.
The George R Brown Convention Center, which has a 5,000 capacity, has sheltered up to 10,000 people forced from their homes.
Victims are now being sent to a new relief hub at the larger NRG Center.
Televangelist Joel Osteen has also opened his 16,000 capacity Lakewood Church, after criticism that it was not initially accepting people seeking shelter.
Houston's Mayor Sylvester Turner has requested assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) to shelter an additional 10,000 people.
Up to 500,000 people in Texas will ultimately require some form of assistance, federal officials estimate.
A curfew has been established in Houston from midnight-05:00 local time (05:00-10:00 GMT)
Map showing main relief centres and key facilities in Houston, Texas
Thousands of people are sheltering in the George R Brown Convention CenterImage copyrightGETTY IMAGES
Image captionThousands of people are sheltering in the George R Brown Convention Center.

Damage in Houston

The cost of dealing with property damage and lost economic activity could reach $50bn, according to the Houston Chronicle, citing an estimate from the Greater Houston Partnership and Moody's Analytics.
At least 50,000 homes are flooded in the Houston area, Texas officials say, with the figure expected to rise.
The Addicks and Barker reservoirs to the west of the city are at overflow levels, with engineers battling to control the release of water into the Buffalo Bayou, which flows through central Houston.
More than 3,000 people have been rescued in Houston aloneImage copyrightGETTY IMAGES
Image captionMore than 3,000 people have been rescued in Houston alone.
Bridges and roads have been damaged, and both of Houston's airports are likely to remain closed until Wednesday or Thursday.
The oil and chemical industry, which has extensive facilities in coastal Texas, has also suffered.
Many large refineries and plants have been closed because of damage or for safety reasons, while the Port of Houston is expected to be shut until at least the end of the week.
Further south, buildings on the coast were destroyed and damaged by high winds as Hurricane Harvey made its initial landfall, with gusts reaching 130mph.

INTERACTIVESee impact of Hurricane Harvey on community near Rockport

After

Aerial image shows impact of Hurricane Harvey on houses near Rockport, Texas

Before

Houses near Rockport, Texas, where Hurricane Harvey made landfall

Record rainfall

Hurricane Harvey has broken the previous continental US record for rainfall delivered by a single tropical depression, with almost 52 inches falling in Cedar Bayou by 30 August.
The previous record was 48 inches, which fell during Tropical Storm Amelia in 1978, also in Texas.
Map showing cumulative volume of rainfall in Texas from 25-30 August
Graphic showing the risks posed by heavy rainfall and the amount that has fallen in Houston since Friday

Flooded rivers

Rivers at 50 locations across a huge swathe of south and east Texas are now at so-called 'flood stage'.
Graphic: Flooded rivers
This is defined by the US National Weather Service as the level at which water is inundating areas normally dry areas, causing disruption or a threat to life and/or property.
Some are in densely populated areas, and others are in or near remote, rural and isolated communities.

Path of the storm

Hurricane Harvey initially made landfall near Corpus Christi late on Friday 25 August, but then doubled back on itself and headed back out into the Gulf of Mexico.
By 18:00 GMT on Friday, sustained wind speeds had dropped to 70mph, downgrading it to a tropical storm. At this point, the storm was travelling very slowly - at about 2mph - making the effect of the rainfall inland worse.
Forecast track: Friday 25 August
Map
Forecast track: Wednesday 30 August
The storm made landfall again in the neighbouring state of Louisiana, which saw devastating flooding from Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Low-lying New Orleans is bracing to receive up to 10in (25cm) of rain in 36 hours, with a risk of flash floods.
Map: Forecast track of tropical storm Harvey
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Houston flood: 'No way to prevent' chemical plant blast or fire

A chemical plant near the flooded city of Houston is expected to explode or catch fire in the coming days.
During heavy rainfall from Hurricane Harvey, the Arkema plant at Crosby lost refrigeration of chemical compounds which need to be kept cool, and there is no way to prevent a possible fire, the company said.
At least 25 people have been killed in the aftermath of the storm.
US energy supplies have also been hit, as oil companies shut down pipelines.
The US National Weather Service downgraded the former hurricane to a tropical depression but has forecast continuing heavy rainfall over eastern Texas and western Louisiana.
A white truck cab ploughs through deep flood water on a wide open road in Texas near the Arkema plantImage copyrightAFP
Image captionThe main road leading to the plant in Crosby remains flooded
The Arkema chemical plant shut down its production on Friday, before the storm made landfall.
But 40in (102cm) of rainfall in the area flooded the site and cut off its power, the company said in a statement. Backup generators were also flooded.
The facility manufactures organic peroxides, and chemicals stored on site can become dangerous at higher temperatures.
"Materials could now explode and cause a subsequent and intense fire," CEO Richard Rower told Reuters news agency.
"The high water that exists on site, and the lack of power, leave us with no way to prevent it."
He said he expected the fire to be mostly contained to the site itself but residents of Harris County have been evacuated in a 1.5 mile (2.4 km) radius around the plant as a precaution.
The last remaining workers at the site were evacuated on Tuesday.
A shallow speedboat moves at high speed through a flooded street in Port Arthur, carrying evacueesImage copyrightGETTY IMAGES
Image captionPort Arthur is among the areas severely flooded
Parts of Texas have been hit by more than 50in of rainfall since Hurricane Harvey landed, setting new records before it was downgraded to a tropical storm and, late on Wednesday, to a tropical depression.
Rescue efforts continued overnight. Thousands of people have been rescued from floodwater throughout the state, and more than 32,000 people are still in emergency shelters.
Houston, the fourth most populous city in the US, was badly hit, and large parts remain underwater.
The city is also a key energy hub. The storm and its subsequent flooding has knocked out about a quarter of the country's refining capacity, sending petrol prices to a two-year high.

INTERACTIVESee how flood waters caused by Hurricane Harvey have covered low-lying areas

After

Satellite image of Texas coastline after Hurricane Harvey showing flooding

Before

Satellite image of Texas coastline before Hurricane Harvey
Port Arthur, about 80 miles east of Houston, was also severely flooded. Mayor Derrick Freeman, posting on Facebook, said the entire city was underwater, and appealed for anyone who owned a boat to help.
In Beaumont, north-west of Port Arthur, rescue teams saved an 18-month old girl found clinging to her dead mother in the floodwaters.
And in Harris County, a family of six - two great-grandparents and four children - drowned while trying to flee the floods in a van.
On Tuesday, Houston implemented a curfew in a bid to prevent looting of abandoned homes. Port Arthur followed suit Wednesday.
Two rescuers from US Navy Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 7 are lowered to a house after Tropical Storm Harvey flooded a neighbourhood in Beaumont, Texas, 30 AugustImage copyrightREUTERS
Image captionHelicopters were used to rescue people in Beaumont
An additional 10,000 members of the National Guard were said to be on their way to Texas to join the rescue efforts, adding to the 14,000 already deployed.
Harvey was the most powerful hurricane to hit Texas in more than 50 years when it first made landfall at Corpus Christi, 220 miles south-west of Houston, late on Friday.
At a press conference Wednesday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott said the state could need more than $125bn (£97bn) from the federal government to help its recovery.
An he warned "the worst is not yet over", as flooding was expected to continue for several days.
Meanwhile, the tropical depression is now moving north-north-east, the US National Weather Service said.
Heavy rainfall is expected from Louisiana to Kentucky over the next three days, and flood warnings remain in effect for south-east Texas and parts of south-west Louisiana.
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