Tornetta, the Red Cross spokesman, said the agency has more than 30 shelters set up throughout the Gulf Coast region.
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There have been scattered reports of looting during the flooding from Tropical Storm Harvey. Harvey, which made landfall north of Corpus Christi late Friday evening, is expected to dump upwards to 40 inches of rain in Texas over the next couple of days.
The city’s largest shelter was overflowing when the mayor announced plans to create space for thousands of extra people by opening two and possibly three more mega-shelters. Damage has been estimated at tens of billions of dollars. “The mayor is working hard on that”, McCasland said.
“I tried to get a bed, but they said they didn’t have any”, she said.
“We’re going to ensure that people that have been affected have everything they need as they go forward”, Tornetta said.
The surge in evacuees has been stressing resources in the fourth-largest US city. Those who got to the convention center when it first opened seemed happy with the conditions. She expressed gratitude for the people who cheerfully brought over diapers and baby formula for Aspen.
Cornyn also said President Trump called him and offered “whatever you need, whatever state of Texas needs, we’re here”.
But even as 9,000 evacuees huddled at Houston’s own convention center, exceeding its capacity by almost double, only a couple hundred people had trickled into the Dallas shelter by Tuesday evening, according to local reports.
A weather station southeast of Houston at Mary’s Creek at Winding Road, reported 49.32 inches (125.27 centimeters) of rain as of Tuesday morning, according to the National Weather Service.
McCasland said the Houston Police Department is on site and there is plenty of security presence.
“There’s still some significant threats out there”, Acevedo told a special session of the Houston City Council on Wednesday.
The announcement – which was released in tweets both in English and in Spanish – was an apparent attempt to assuage fears those in Houston’s immigrant community may have about the risk of going to the temporary shelters that have cropped up as the city reels from devastating flooding in the wake of the storm.
Brazoria County authorities posted a message on Twitter warning that the levee at Columbia Lakes south of Houston had been breached and telling people to “GET OUT NOW!” The number of evacuees is certain to rise further, with the town of Dickinson issuing a mandatory evacuation order on Monday afternoon.
Once they arrived at Austin’s Wilhelmenia Delco Center with its cot-filled gym, Rosales said she felt the urge to help others. The population had dipped somewhat as other centers opened and some evacuees moved on.
“If I would have stayed in the house, trying to protect everything, I wouldn’t be here”, Ms Phillips said, her voice swerving between softness and a matter-of-fact tone.
“We can’t complain”, Donna Shankle said.
Additionally, the people most likely to be found dead are the elderly, the infirm and the people who were isolated from others – along with folks who didn’t have the means or wherewithal to flee.
Area churches and aid organizations donated clothing, bedding and food for evacuees.
Thousands arrived at the George R. Brown Convention Center after being plucked from rooftops by rescuers in helicopters or scooped up by volunteer emergency responders in boats.
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The city has also been asked to get ready for more people over the next few days and weeks, the mayor said.
