Weather and Natural Disasters

Here's what the Houston area looks like as Harvey moves on

Floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey surround homes in Port Arthur, Texas, Thursday, Aug. 31, 2017.
Gerald Herbert | AP

Flood levels are dropping across the Houston area as Harvey trudges east and continues to weaken. Five straight days of downpours dropped around 52 inches of rain in some areas, the heaviest deluge ever recorded in the continental United States from a single storm.

The death toll from the storm has risen to 35. But stores and airports are reopening, providing relief to tens of thousands of evacuees and residents.

These photos provide a closer look at the situation as the floodwater recedes.

Rescues in Beaumont as its water supply fails

A woman and baby are rescued by a Coast Guard helicopter after Tropical Storm Harvey flooded their neighborhood in Beaumont, Texas, August 30, 2017.
Petty Officer 3rd Class Brandon Giles | U.S. Coast Guard | Reuters

Officials in Beaumont — which has nearly 120,000 residents — announced the city lost both the primary and secondary sources for its water supply system. Here a woman and baby are rescued by a Coast Guard helicopter after their neighborhood flooded in the Texas city 110 miles east of Houston.

Clogged traffic

Search and rescue volunteers sit in floodwater traffic as they figure out a place to launch their boats from in Port Arthur, Texas, on Aug. 30, 2017
Marcus Yam | Los Angeles Times | Getty Images

Cars line up in a flooded street in Port Arthur, 110 miles east of Houston.

An uphill battle remains for relief efforts

A FEMA truck sits in floodwaters on the Beltway 8 feeder road in Houston on August 30, 2017, as the fourth largest city in the US battles with tropical storm Harvey and resulting floods.
Thomas B. Shea | AFP | Getty Images

A FEMA truck sits in floodwaters on the Beltway 8 feeder road in Houston on Wednesday.

Residents evacuated after explosions at chemical plant

A police officer lays down a safety flare while blocking the road leading to the Arkema SA plant which was hit by floods caused Tropical Storm Harvey near Crosby, Texas, August 31, 2017.
Adrees Latif | Reuters

Two explosions were reported at a flood-hit chemical plant in Crosby, Texas, 30 miles northeast of Houston. Here a police officer lays down a safety flare while blocking the road leading to the Arkema SA plant.

Pipelines starved of fuel as refineries sit dormant 

Rainwater from Hurricane Harvey surrounds oil refinery storage tanks in this aerial photograph taken above Texas City, Texas, on Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2017.
Luke Sharrett | Bloomberg | Getty Images

About 20 to 25 percent of U.S. refining capacity remains offline, creating problems in the pipeline systems that move gasoline and other fuel around the eastern half of the United States. Pipeline operators have been forced to throttle back or suspend flows of gasoline and other petroleum products.

Some stores are opening up, but with lengthy lines and limited supplies

A line outside the Walmart in Houston, Texas on August 30, 2017.
Harriet Taylor | CNBC

A line outside the Walmart in Houston on Wednesday.

The nation prays and sends relief aid

Julie Fant, left, Era Monette, center, and Donna Banks, right, pray for the victims of Hurricane Harvey, in New Orleans, Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2017.
Brynn Anderson | AP

Pictured here in New Orleans, Julie Fant, left, Era Monette, center, and Donna Banks, right, pray for the victims of Hurricane Harvey.

Accounts of Harvey unfold as residents recall the hurricane

Zamir Navarro sheds tears of joy after seeing her home dry but fronted by Harvey floodwaters in north western Houston, Texas, August 31, 2017.
Rick Wilking | Reuters

Zamir Navarro sheds tears of joy after seeing her home dry despite Harvey floodwaters in northwestern Houston.