COLLEGE STATION – As the remnants of Tropical Depression Harvey moved across Tennessee and into Kentucky, the state of Texas is still responding to flooding of a number of rivers, creeks and reservoirs. Texas Task Force 1, Texas Task Force 2, and other state and federal resources are still deployed in the state and continue to conduct life-safety operations and search and rescue operations across much of Southeast and East Texas.
TX-TF1 and TX-TF2 US&R Task Forces continued search and rescue operations in Fort Bend and Wharton Counties, where the Brazos River continued to rise to unprecedented flooding levels, forcing the evacuation of nursing homes and houses. In the Harris Country area, US&R task forces conducted primary search operations of communities that had flooded, alongside the local fire departments. TX-TF1 Water Rescue Squads, and TX-TF1 Helicopter Search and Rescue Technicians, in conjunction with Texas Military Department helicopters and High-Profile Vehicles, continued conducting water rescue and evacuation operations in Liberty, Chambers, Jefferson, Jasper, Newton, and Orange Counties as the Neches and Sabine Rivers flood at record levels.
Harvey dropped a record 51.8 inches of rain on Texas, making it the largest single rain event in U.S. history. The size and scope of the Texas and national response is unprecedented, with responders and teams coming from nearly every state, and even Puerto Rico and the Cherokee Nation, as well as from all branches of emergency services and all U.S. military branches.