HOUSTON, Aug. 27 (Xinhua) -- Catastrophic flood waters inundated Houston on Sunday and forecasts expect more heavy rainfall in the coming days.
Earlier on Sunday, a body was found not far from the coastal area in Southeast Texas, which increases the death toll to six after Hurricane Harvey made landfall Friday night. However, local police said they are not sure if the death is directly related to Harvey.
Widespread and worsening flood conditions prompted the closure of nearly every major road in Houston as the outer bands of Harvey swept through the Houston area over the weekend.
Less than 24 hours after Harvey hit the Gulf Coast, more than 300,000 people were without power, according to AEP Texas, the transmission company that services the region, which has been hit hardest by the hurricane. AEP reported mass outages in areas along the Gulf Coast.
The loss of electricity was likely due to wind damage to more than 150 transmission circuits, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) said, which oversees 90 percent of the state's electric grid.
A Houston Airport System statement on Sunday said George Bush Intercontinental Airport and Hobby Airport are closed to commercial flights until further notice.
As flood waters keep rising through Sunday, leaders in Texas are trying to increase resources to deal with the catastrophy.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott requested that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) add 12 more counties to the Presidential Disaster Declaration.
The original request, which was quickly granted by FEMA last week, will provide individual assistance, public assistance and hazard mitigation to Texas counties affected by Hurricane Harvey.
Harris is among the counties which will be added into the disaster declaration, where Houston is located.
In addition to this request, the governor has already issued a state disaster declaration for 50 Texas counties in response to the hurricane.
On Sunday, Abbott also said the state has now activated 3,000 National Guard and State Guard members to take part in rescue operations.
At a press conference on Sunday, Houston mayor Sylvester Turner said more than 2,000 emergency calls had been received and more shelters would be opening.
The White House said Sunday that President Donald Trump will visit hurricane-ravaged Texas on Tuesday. President Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and members of Trump's cabinet discussed federal support for response and recovery efforts, said the White House
At the county level, the Fort Bend County Office of Emergency Management on Sunday upgraded the evacuation status for those in low-lying areas along the Brazos River from voluntary to mandatory, urging residents to pack belongings quickly and leave.
While rain continued to drench the area, the major threat remained a day away. The river of Brazos, which winds its way across the southwestern Great Houston county, was rising slowly, expected to hit its peak after 4 p.m.(2100 GMT) on Monday.
Late Sunday afternoon, residents continued to pack up belongings. A steady stream arrived to Red Cross shelters. According to American Red Cross, there are eight shelters scattered across the Great Houston area.
A mandatory curfew was in effect both in Pasadena and League City Sunday night.
Meanwhile, some residents continue to cope with the diaster by themselves.
In Dickinson, south of League City, Kelley Scott-Romar awoke Sunday morning to find floodwater inside her home.
"We've lived here for ten years and it's never flooded here like this before," Scott-Romar, an educational administrator at the Texas Independent School District, told Xinhua. "At first I couldn't believe it. We were seeing vases and rugs floating in the water."
Some of her prized possessions - a relative's wedding belongings and decorations - also perished in floodwater.
Scott-Romar's concern grew when she looked outside to find the waters rising, reaching almost chest high. "It still looks like a lake outside our house," she said.
Scott-Romar and her husband planned to stay on the upper floor of their two-story home Sunday night, hoping for the best despite weather forecasts for yet more rain in the area.
"I used to be the homeless educational liaison for homeless families, helping people in this kind of predicament," she said. "And here I am today going through some of the same challenges that they had."
