Harvey could drop another 20 inches of rain in Houston, Abbott says

This map from the National Weather Service shows the estimated rainfall totals for Southeast Texas between Saturday and Thursday morning caused by Hurricane Harvey. This image was part of the weather service's 10 a.m. update, Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017. less This map from the National Weather Service shows the estimated rainfall totals for Southeast Texas between Saturday and Thursday morning caused by Hurricane Harvey. This image was part of the weather service's ... more Photo: National Weather Service Photo: National Weather Service Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Harvey could drop another 20 inches of rain in Houston, Abbott says 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

AUSTIN -- From a basement bunker in the State Operations Center in Austin, Gov. Greg Abbott warned that another 20 to 30 inches of rain could fall on already soaked areas of Southeast Texas.

Twenty inches of rain have already fallen in the Corpus Christi area and 16 inches have dropped in the Houston area, Abbott said during a press briefing Saturday.

Abbott told reporters he could not confirm whether Hurricane Harvey has caused any fatalities after blowing onto land last night. Officials did not know how many search and rescue missions officials have made, but said responders will have to wait until wind and weather conditions wane.

Hurricane Harvey lost steam early Saturday, dropping from a Category 4 hurricane to Category 1, the least powerful classification, then to a tropical storm Saturday afternoon..

However, the storm is is expected to continue dumping rain on Southeast Texas over the next few days as it crawls further inland, bloating rivers.

Already, 4,500 inmates are being evacuated from the Ramsey, Terrell and Stringfellow units in Rosharon -- 30 miles south of Houston -- due to rising waters on the Brazos River from Hurricane Harvey rainfall, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice announced Saturday.