Pictured: Human and animal fortitude in Hurricane Harvey floodwaters
Elderly have been pictured wading through waist-deep water in their Texas nursing home while a dog made for higher ground with full bag of food in its mouth.
These are some of the images emerging from flood-ravaged Texas where human – and animal – endurance has been captured amid the devastation brought by what's being dubbed the "worst natural disaster" to ever hit the state.
The catastrophic flooding triggered by Tropical Storm Harvey inundated Houston on Sunday, forcing residents of the fourth most populous US city to flee their homes in boats or hunker down in anticipation of several more days of "unprecedented" rainfall.
Harvey came ashore late on Friday as the most powerful hurricane to hit Texas in more than 50 years and has killed at least two people.
The death toll is expected to rise as the storm triggers additional tidal surges and tornadoes, with parts of the region expected to see a year's worth of rainfall in the span of a week.
The storm caused chest-deep flooding on some streets in Houston as rivers and channels overflowed their banks.
At one nursing home in Galveston, a coastal town southeast of Houston, residents had to sit and wait for a helicopter evacuation after the flood washed through the building.
'Devastating disaster': Catastrophic floods strike Houston in US as thousands flee homes
Man catches fish with bare hands in living room after Hurricane Harvey
The elderly men and women – and one cat – were photographed sitting calmly on armchairs and walkers in the water that came right through the common room.
If the woman and men pictured in the filthy water were upset or annoyed there is no sign of it on their stoic faces.
Emergency management coordinator David Popoff told Galveston’s Daily News that all 18 were rescued from the water.
“We were air-lifting grandmothers and grandfathers,” Popoff said.
Elsewhere in Texas a lone shaggy dog made its way through a storm ravaged neighbourhood in Sinton with a large bag of chow in its jaws.
La vita Bella nursing home in Dickinson Texas is almost underwater with nursing home patients pic.twitter.com/oCNkrgoRZY
— Timothy J. McIntosh (@DividendsMGR) August 27, 2017
According Tiele Dockens, who snapped the viral picture the dog, named “Otis”, was later located by its owner after escaping in the chaos of the storm.
In one part of the state a hawk was filmed taking refuge in the front seat of a taxi, while man in Houston caught fish swimming through his lounge room with his bare hands.
Pictures from other parts of the Lone Star State have emerged showing floodwater rising to the height of highways signs and traffic lights.
More than 76cm of rain had fallen in parts of Houston over the weekend, the National Weather Service said on Sunday, with more on the way.
The storm struck at the heart of the country's oil and gas industry, forcing operators to close several refineries and evacuate and close offshore platforms.
“What we’re seeing is the most devastating flood event in Houston’s recorded history,” said Steve Bowen, chief meteorologist at reinsurance firm Aon Benfield.
“We’re seeing levels of rainfall that are unprecedented."
Total precipitation could reach 127cm in some coastal areas of Texas by the end of the week, or the average rainfall for an entire year.
President Donald Trump plans to go to Texas on Tuesday to survey damage from the storm, a White House spokeswoman said on Sunday.
- With Reuters
