"Catastrophic" flooding in the US state of Texas is only expected to worsen in coming days as waters rise following a storm of historic proportions. A record 30in of rain (75cm) has already fallen on the city of Houston in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, turning roads into rivers. But forecasters say that number could nearly double later this week. On Monday President Donald Trump also approved an emergency declaration for neighbouring Louisiana.
Harvey made landfall as a category-four hurricane late on Friday, bringing flooding described by officials as "unprecedented". It was later downgraded to a tropical storm. Up to 2,000 people have been rescued in and around Houston, the fourth-largest city in the US, where about 6.6m people live in the metropolitan area. The area is expected to have received a year's rainfall within a week. Five people are reported dead. Helicopters have plucked victims from rooftops.
Governor Greg Abbott has activated the entire Texas National Guard - some 12,000 so-called "civilian soldiers" - to assist national forces in search and rescue operations.
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