Some Texans head home, others still in peril

Storm-weary residents of Houston and other Texas cities began returning home Friday to assess flood damage from Hurricane Harvey but officials warned the danger was far from over in parts of the battered state.

One week after the Category Four storm lashed southeast Texas, rescuers were still searching by air and by boat for people trapped in their flooded homes.

And as floodwaters receded in Houston, the biggest city in Texas, nearby towns such as Beaumont -- which had lost its water supply -- and Port Arthur were struggling to get back on their feet.

Tobias James found a mess -- including two ruined cars in his flooded garage -- as he returned to his home in Port Arthur, a city of more than 55,000 people some 100 miles (160 kilometers) east of Houston.

"I ain't never seen nothing like it in my 37 years," said James, who works at an oil and gas refinery and was hoisted out of rising floodwaters by a rescue helicopter two days earlier, along with his wife and children.

Harvey has been blamed for at least 42 deaths thus far and tens of billions of dollars of damage.

Across Port Arthur, rescue workers were still evacuating residents who had tried to ride out the storm in their homes.

Jonathan Caldwell, a former police officer who now runs a moving company, said he and some friends rescued about a dozen people in one flooded neighborhood Friday.

"We had little ones on our shoulders, wading through chest deep water this morning," he said.

- 'We need the resources yesterday' -

Mayor Sylvester Turner said most of Houston itself was "now dry" but urged residents who live near two overflowing reservoirs in the city's west to leave their homes because they will remain flooded for another two weeks.

The voluntary evacuation applies to 15,000 to 20,000 homes. Officials said most people have left, but some were holding out -- straining emergency workers who have to maintain services to them, including providing them with water.

Turner said the most pressing needs were housing for people who have lost their homes and debris removal.

President Donald Trump, who declared this coming Sunday to be a "National Day of Prayer" for victims of Hurricane Harvey, visited Texas on Tuesday and is scheduled to return to the Lone Star State again on Saturday.

"Texas is healing fast thanks to all of the great men & women who have been working so hard," he tweeted. "But still so much to do. Will be back tomorrow!"

A US official in Washington said the White House is expected to ask Congress for around $5.9 billion in emergency aid for Texas and Louisiana following the storm.

Turner estimated that around 40,000 to 50,000 homes in the Houston area had suffered damage, and said federal assistance was needed urgently.

"We need the resources now," Turner told CNN. "In fact let me back that up. We need the resources yesterday."

- Housing 'critically important' -

The Houston mayor said providing housing for the now homeless is "critically important."

"People can't stay in shelters forever," he said.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott said more than 42,000 people spent Thursday night in 258 shelters across Texas and another 3,000 Texans did so in neighboring Louisiana.

While the situation was getting better in much of the state some areas remain dangerous, such as Beaumont, a city of some 120,000 which neighbors Port Arthur in southeast Texas.

Abbott said the Neches River, which runs along the eastern edge of Beaumont, was currently about seven feet (2.1 meters) above the record and was continuing to rise.

"This poses an ongoing threat to Beaumont and the surrounding area," he said.

- 'Plenty of gasoline' -

A major hospital in Beaumont began evacuating its 200-odd patients on Thursday after the water cut out and a dozen premature babies were airlifted out on Friday.

Abbott also sought to quash fears of fuel shortages. "The state of Texas will have plenty of gasoline," he said. "Don't worry, we won't run out."

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