Hurricane Harvey wreaks havoc: Top updates

Emergency declared
US President Donald Trump today declared an emergency in Louisiana as part of the southern state was being pelted with rain from tropical storm Harvey.
The declaration allows the federal government, specifically the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to coordinate relief efforts. It also provides federal funding for disaster relief.
"This action will help alleviate the hardship and suffering that the emergency has inflicted on the local population," the White House said in a statement.
Melania, Trump to visit Texas on Tuesday
First lady Melania Trump will join President Donald Trump on his trip to storm-battered Texas. The first lady's spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham said on Twitter Monday. The White House has said Trump will travel to Texas on Tuesday.
Over 36,000 homes in Harvey's path
Fannie Mae said on Monday 36,583 single-family homes whose mortgages it guarantees were in the initial impact area of Harvey, the most powerful storm to hit Texas in more than 50 years.
These homes in Harvey's path have about $5.1 billion in unpaid principal balance, the mortgage finance agency said.
Houston shelter reaches half of its capacity
The shelter set up inside the George R Brown Convention Center in downtown Houston has already reached half its capacity.
Ken Sandy, a shelter manager for the American Red Cross, said that more than 2,600 people took shelter in the Convention Center. Organisers with the Red Cross estimate the convention center can accommodate roughly 5,000 people. Sandy also said that the shelter is currently out of cots and waiting for more to arrive.
Rescue operations
An estimated 1,500 to 2,000 water rescues have taken place in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, as workers continue to locate survivors of the deadly storm, according to the Harris County Sheriff's Office.
Residents turn into responders
According to ABC News, as first responders and search-and-rescue crews were busy in with endless 911 calls, two brothers pitched in and saved lives. The Jackson brothers took their small boat to rescue neighbor after neighbor on Sunday, ABC reported.
"At one home, residents were forced to flee to the second story, and as the Jackson brothers arrived there, they jumped into action, rescuing two families and multiple pets. When that homeowner, Sheila Condron, saw the boat and young men outside of her house, she broke down, grateful to be rescued but still in shock over the power of the storm,"it said.
Houston evokes painful memories of Katrina
As people waded in chest-high floodwaters, Houston turned its main convention center into a shelter Sunday, evoking memories of Hurricane Katrina, when breached levees in New Orleans stranded tens of thousands of people in squalid conditions at that city's football stadium and convention center.
Elected officials have vowed to heed the lessons from Katrina in 2005, when about 30,000 evacuees spent days packed inside the sweltering Superdome with limited power and water and a roof that was shredded in the howling wind.
Houston 'not out of the woods yet'
The remnants of Hurricane Harvey continued dumping historic levels of rainfall on the Houston area today morning as devastating floods swamped the nation's fourth-largest city. Rising water chased thousands of people to rooftops or higher ground and overwhelmed rescuers who could not keep up with the constant calls for help. The National Weather Service has issued a statement saying "flooding isn't expected to peak until Wednesday or Thursday."
"We are not out of the woods yet," Elaine Duke, Acting Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, said at a Monday morning briefing. "Harvey is still a dangerous and historic storm."
Texas has never seen an event like: FEMA
Swollen rivers in east Texas aren't expected to crest until later this week, but federal officials are already predicting Tropical Storm Harvey will drive 30,000 people into shelters and spur 450,000 victims to seek some sort of disaster assistance.
"This is a landmark event for Texas," said FEMA Administrator Brock Long. "Texas has never seen an event like this."
But, Long warned, Harvey presents a dynamic situation, and "every number we put out right now is going to change in 30 minutes."
No need to release emergency oil supplies: IEA
The International Energy Agency today said that there was no need for now to release fuel from emergency stockpiles to compensate for disruption caused by Hurricane Harvey because global oil markets were well supplied.
Several refineries in the U.S. state of Texas have shut because of the storm, halting fuel production and causing gasoline prices to rise. The shutdowns affect international as well as domestic fuel supplies because the United States ships exports from the region.
(with agencies)