Turner enacts Houston curfew amid Harvey flooding



>>Here are aerial photos that show extreme Harvey flooding in Houston... Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner.

>>Here are aerial photos that show extreme Harvey flooding in Houston... Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner. Photo: Yi-Chin Lee, Staff Photo: Yi-Chin Lee, Staff Image 1 of / 117 Caption Close Turner enacts Houston curfew amid Harvey flooding 1 / 117 Back to Gallery

Houston's mayor imposed a city curfew on Tuesday evening. He later modified the curfew to start at midnight and last until 5 a.m.

Mayor Sylvester Turner said it's aimed to prevent property crimes at evacuated homes in city limits.

"I don't want them to have to worry about someone breaking into their home or looting while they are away," he said. "There are some people who might be inclined to take advantage of the situation."

Imposing curfew from 10 pm to 5 am to stop any property crimes against evacuated homes in city limits. — Sylvester Turner (@SylvesterTurner) August 29, 2017

The mayor clarified in a tweet that several categories of people are exempted: flood relief volunteers, people seeking shelter, first responders, and anyone traveling between work and home.

"This is Texas, we're tough," Police Chief Art Acevedo said. "We're a really good city, we're a welcoming city. We're a city that's about diversity and opportunity...but we're not a city that's going to tolerate victimizing people at the lowest point in their life."

The police department said in a statement later Monday that "officers are expected to exercise their discretion (and) take whatever action is most appropriate."

Earlier Tuesday, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said that looters will feel "the full weight of the law" in Harvey's aftermath.

A Texas law increases punishments for assault, robbery, burglary and theft in counties declared as disaster areas, according to a statement from Ogg's office.

This story is developing.