00:44 Much of Houston Flooded in Deluge from Beta Beta, now a tropical depression, has brought heavy rain and major flooding throughout the Houston area.

At a Glance At least six people have died during Hurricane Harvey's assault on the Texas coast and Houston.

Officials began releasing water from two overflowing reservoir in Houston to prevent uncontrollable flooding downtown.

There's a possibility the release could cause additional street flooding in neighborhoods near the reservoirs.

The White House announced President Donald Trump plans to travel to Texas Tuesday.

Houston's Hobby Airport will be closed until at least Wednesday due to flooding.

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Officials in Houston began releasing water from two of the city's reservoirs Monday in an effort to prevent even more flooding in the midst of Tropical Storm Harvey's colossal rains, which have contributed to six deaths.

In a press conference held Monday, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner announced the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had begun releasing water into Buffalo Bayou from the Barker and Addicks reservoirs on the western outskirts of Houston. The water is being spilled to prevent uncontrollable flooding in downtown Houston and the Houston Ship Channel. Officials say if they do not release the water, it will go around the barriers, especially the Addicks.

Roughly 2,600 feet per second are being released from Addicks and 2,000 cubic feet per second are being released from Barker, Turner said during the press conference. He added that they aim to release 8,000 cubic feet.

Officials warned that the release could cause additional street flooding that could spill into homes, USA Today reports.

Residents have been placed under a non-mandatory evacuation during the release, KHOU.com reports.



(MORE: Why Houston Didn't Order Evacuations )





"If they get the call from their locally-elected official to evacuate, they need to heed those warnings and evacuate immediately," Army Corps of Engineers representative Randy Cephus told KHOU.

Residents of the Houston Ship Channel were ordered to shelter in-place and shut their doors and windows Monday after a pipeline or chemical leak was reported in the area , Chron.com reports. The incident occurred near the intersection of Texas 225 and Texas 146, affecting those in of the city of La Porte and the Shoreacres and Baytown communites, which have a total population of over 100,000.

Harris County Flood Control issued a mandatory evacuation for residents in the Inverness Forest Subdivision Monday, the National Weather Service reports (NWS).



Gov. Greg Abbott has activated all 12,000 Texas National Guard members after Harvey dumped more than two feet of rain on Houston metro, causing historic flooding from rainfall that has been characterized by NWS as "beyond anything experienced before."

Officials announced mandatory evacuations Monday afternoon for the entire town of Dickinson, Texas – a town of 20,000 located 30 miles southeast of Houston.

In Harris County, officials announced the storm's catastrophic flooding has led to upwards of 2,200 water rescues.

Swollen waterways are prompting evacuations in surrounding areas. New mandatory and voluntary evacuations were ordered Monday morning in Fort Bend County, Texas, southwest of downtown Houston, over fears and expectations that water levels in the Brazos River will reach record levels, threatening to overtop local levees and inundate homes and businesses.

"A 59-foot river level threatens to overtop many of the levees in our area," said Fort Bend County Judge Robert Hebert. "If you are in a mandatory evacuation zone, please leave. If you do not, you may be in danger and we may not be able to help."

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More evacuations could come with record-breaking flooding bursting the banks of waterways further downstream. Five waterways have already crested to their highest levels ever, according to weather.com senior meteorologist Jon Erdman, and five more, including the Brazos River , are forecast to crest above their all-time record.

North of Houston, mandatory evacuations were also ordered in the town of Conroe , according to the Courier. The evacuations were for the McDade Estates community, some 200 homes along the West Fork of the San Jacinto River, the report added.

Authorities feared flooding in the community was imminent because of a record rate of release from Lake Conroe, the Courier also said.

"The heaviest rain early Monday morning extended from near Beaumont/Port Arthur, Texas, into far southwestern Louisiana, with radar rain rates estimated over 4 inches per hour over in some spots," said Erdman. "Rain is still falling over parts of the Houston metro area, mainly in Fort Bend and southern Harris Counties, but is much less intense than we saw during the weekend."

In a Monday morning press conference, FEMA Administrator William "Brock" Long said more than 30,000 people will be placed into shelters and at least 450,000 will need disaster assistance in the wake of the catastrophe.

"This is a landmark event for Texas," Long told reporters. "Texas has never seen an event like this."

At the George R. Brown Convention Center, Red Cross officials said they prepared for 1,200 evacuees, but overnight Monday, some 2,500 people arrived.

A voluntary evacuation was posted for residents in Inverness Forest Subdivision north of Whitestone Lane, including east and west Greenbrook Drive and Kenchester Drive. Cypress Creek near I-45 could top the levee by Monday morning, according to the Harris County Flood Control District.

"There is life-threatening, catastrophic flooding happening now in Southeast Harris County," Jeff Lindner of the Harris County Flood Control District told The Weather Channel.

A woman died in Mongomery County Monday after a tree collapsed on top of her home while she slept , according to the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office.

Two people have died in the Houston area in flood-related deaths as torrential rain continues to fall, according to NWS. The Harris County medical examiner's office confirmed a woman was killed in flooding Saturday, according to AP. She appeared to have exited her vehicle in high water and was found 30 yards away by neighbors. The Houston Fire Department said a man died in floodwaters overnight Saturday into Sunday. Two people reportedly died in Galveston County Sunday.

(MORE: President Trump Unleashes Harvey Tweet Storm )

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Dr. Greg Postel, hurricane specialist for The Weather Channel, said the flooding in the Houston area "could be the worst flooding disaster in U.S. history." Gov. Abbott, appearing on Fox News Sunday, said: "We're measuring rain these days not in inches but in feet."

In an on-air phone interview with The Weather Channel Sunday, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said the top challenge for emergency officials is securing more assets for high water rescues.

In addition to the rescue crews, Cruz said residents with flat-bottomed boats have been assisting with saving people from flooded homes. He thanked Texas residents and those pitching in from other states, describing the outpouring of help as "inspirational" and a reminder that "there's a lot more that unites us."

President Donald Trump tweeted Sunday that he would visit Texas "as soon as that trip can be made without causing disruption," the Associated Press reported. The White House later announced that the trip would be made Tuesday.

Officials in Dallas are preparing the Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center to become a "mega shelter" for Harvey evacuees, CBS DFW reported. Office of Emergency Management Director Rocky Vaz said they hope to take in evacuees by Tuesday morning.

“We have been advised by the state to be prepared for up to 5,000 evacuees, and we are committed to doing whatever it takes to accommodate our fellow Texans who may need assistance,” said Vaz.

Turner said that as of 5 p.m. local time Sunday, the city received nearly 6,000 calls for rescues and that more than 1,000 have been rescued, AP reports.

He urged people to "remain calm, remain patient." He noted that most thoroughfares are impassable and said he's ordered neighborhoods to open libraries and multi-service centers to offer "lily pad" safe havens for people who cannot flee the city because of flooded roads.

"I don't care if there is no food or water there, I just need to have a safe place for people to go," he said.

Gov. Abbott says 18 counties are now covered by a disaster declaration approved by Trump, according to the AP. Almost 7 million people live within those counties, out of Texas' overall population of 27.8 million.

(MORE: The Latest Forecast for Hurricane Harvey )

When reporters asked why no evacuations were ordered despite days of warnings from NWS, Turner said it would have been "too dangerous" to have millions of residents on the road, noting that "if you think the situation right now is bad and you give an order to evacuate, you are creating a nightmare."

"The best place is for people to remain in their homes," he said.

The runway at Houston's Hobby Airport was completely flooded Sunday, according to a tweet from the airport. Officials closed the airport Sunday morning due to the storm, and it will remain closed until at least Wednesday. The George Bush Intercontinental Airport is also closed until further notice.

Harris County Judge Ed Emmett said Sunday afternoon that the county's public hospital, Ben Taub Hospital, was being evacuated as flooding disrupted power service.

The Houston Chronicle noted that some highways were so deluged, water lapped at overhead signs . The Harris County Sheriff's Office says some homes have taken on more than 6 feet of water.

Buffalo and Brays Bayou on the west side of The Loop are climbing out of their banks due to torrential rainfall. In addition, Mary's Creek in Friendswood has surged out its banks, surpassing its 500-year water mark.

Staff at Houston television station KHOU-TV were broadcasting live coverage of the floods when floodwater from nearby Buffalo Bayou began to enter the building. The anchors and news operations at the station moved first to a second floor before finally abandoning the station.

About 15 seniors were evacuated from La Vita Bella nursing home in Dickinson, Texas, after Timothy McIntosh tweeted a dramatic photo from the nursing home owned by his mother-in-law.

The photo was captured by his mother-in-law. McIntosh told the Galveston News he hoped the viral tweet would convince the National Guard to help out and it did.

Trump Approves Emergency Declaration for Louisiana

Harvey's heavy rainfall was also expected to bring flooding to neighboring Louisiana, and on Monday morning, Trump approved an emergency declaration for five parishes – Beauregard, Calcasieu, Cameron, Jefferson Davis and Vermilion – to help get federal assistance to necessary areas.

Meanwhile, residents in flood-prone areas did everything they could to prepare for a possible inundation.

"We've got to try to save what we can," Calcasieu Parish resident Brenda Bradley told the Associated Press. "We're in our 70s and there's no way we can lift all (our) furniture up."

Sandbagging was underway Monday in New Orleans, and many residents said they feared the impacts of heavy rainfall in the city.

"It really evoked a lot of emotions and heartbreak for the people who are going through that now in Houston," Ray Gratia, whose home flooded during Katrina, told the AP.

Thousands of Cruisers Rerouted

Four cruise ships that were stranded in the Gulf of Mexico for days will finally dock, but not in Galveston as scheduled. According to Cruise Critic, the Carnival Valor, Carnival Freedom and Carnival Breeze will be rerouted to New Orleans , while the Royal Caribbean Liberty of the Seas will be sent to Miami instead.

All four ships have canceled sailings for this week, and guests will be refunded, the report added.

Rockport Shredded

A Rockport man was killed when his house caught fire at the height of the storm, according to media reports.

Buildings were ripped to shreds in Rockport and firefighters were unable to respond to pleas for help in the hours following Harvey's Friday night landfall along the Texas coast.

KTRK-TV reported 10 people sustained injuries when the roof of a senior housing complex collapsed during the storm. The severity of those injuries was unknown.

"We know there is widespread devastation," Rockport Mayor CJ Wax said during an interview with The Weather Channel. "I think it’s safe to say we took a Cat. 4 (hurricane) right on the nose, and we’d appreciate everyone’s prayers."

Officials estimate that 40 percent of residents did not heed voluntary evacuation orders and remained in the city as Harvey roared ashore.

(MORE: Here's Why Harvey Grew Into a Monster )

About 128 people were evacuated from a Fairfield Inn in Rockport after the hotel suffered severe damage, according to a National Weather Service report.

In Port Aransas, an island community with a population of 3,800, Mayor Charles Bujan told The Weather Channel there was widespread damage – including a trailer park that is 100-percent destroyed. Officials say they were unable to fully survey Port Aransas because of "massive" damage.

"I can tell you I have a very bad feeling and that's about it," Bujan said.

The U.S. Coast Guard rescued four people from the vessel Signet Enterprise Saturday near Port Aransas, according to DVIDS. In total, at least 20 people have been rescued from vessels.

Possible Tornadoes Leave Behind Damage in Nearby Cities

Photos and videos posted to social media showed a possible tornado rolling through a neighborhood in Cypress, Texas, on Aug. 26.

According to reports on the ground , it "touched town near the Berry Center in Cypress and damaged at least one home and a fence next door to the home." No injuries were reported.

More than 50 homes in Missouri City were damaged by a storm when it hit the Sienna Plantation neighborhood, KHOU reports. Several homes had the roofs torn off and collapsed walls. A responding deputy was reportedly blown off the road.

Damage was also reported in Katy, Texas , ABC13.com reports. A manager of RV, Boat & Mini Storage says the storm crossed the Katy Freeway before slamming into their offices, scattering metal debris and auto parts across the parking lot and lawn.

"We were here last night, and we basically had the place sealed up so water couldn't get in," the manager, only identified as BJ, told ABC13. "My partner called me in the morning at 6 o'clock and said everything was destroyed. A tornado had came through around 5:30 and crossed I-10. Totally ruined the office."