Harvey likely ruined 500,000 vehicles in Texas

Water from the Addicks Reservoir flows over the trunk of a submerged Mercedes in a west Houston neighborhood. Water from the Addicks Reservoir flows over the trunk of a submerged Mercedes in a west Houston neighborhood. Photo: ANDREW BURTON, NYT Photo: ANDREW BURTON, NYT Image 1 of / 29 Caption Close Harvey likely ruined 500,000 vehicles in Texas 1 / 29 Back to Gallery

Flooding from Tropical Storm and Hurricane Harvey has likely damaged a half-million vehicles in Texas, according to data compiled by Solera Holdings, a tech company that helps insurance companies process car insurance claims.

But rental vehicles that could have gone to flood victims also have been damaged by floodwaters or have been blocked from reaching major areas like Houston, where 94 percent of the population owns a car, according to Solera's data.

RELATED: As Houston dries out, rescues continue

Enterprise Holdings, the St. Louis-based parent company of Enterprise Rent-A-Car, National Car Rental and Alamo Rent A Car, has more than 185 car rental locations in Houston. Thirty of those aren't safe to access, the company said. Enterprise also said it doesn't yet have a tally of cars that have been damaged, said Lisa Martini, a spokeswoman for Enterprise.

But the company does have thousands of rental cars waiting to be deployed to Houston when the roads are safe, she said.