today at five. tropical storm hardly makes landfall in louisiana. thousands more people have been rescued from their homes in texas. residents of port arthur teck refuge in a bowling alley after more than 20 inches of rain fell overnight. all the latest from texas ina overnight. all the latest from texas in a moment and an update on the relief organisations from the state governor. north korea says its firing of a missile overjapan is "the first step" of military operations in the pacific. theresa may says britain stands shoulder to shoulder with japan in the face of north korean aggression — she's in the country drumming up trade post brexit. campaigners warn that raising credit card limits could be pushing people

already struggling with debt into further difficulties. and princes william and harry visit a memorial garden for their mother, on the eve of the 20th anniversary of her death. tropical storm harvey has made landfall for a third time in the us, as the country's southeastern region grapples with an ongoing natural disaster which has left about 20 dead so far. the storm has moved inland now to louisiana and you can see that from the satellite imagery. laura trevelyan is in houston in texas and joins us now.

welcome to a flooded area of houston where the road behind me has been turned into a slipway for boats. there are so many rescue boats being launched, many manned by volunteers. this neighbourhood has been flooded, people have abandoned their homes and cars and what is more because where we are is just below the reservoir is outside of houston which are virtually overflowing as received so much rainfall, there are timed releases from the dams and the water level in this already flooded area is continuing to rise. a quite extraordinary situation. people are anxious for news of relatives still in some of these homes that they have not heard from. my colleague has this report on the latest situation. plucked from the flood water. lifted from a rooftop, a mother and child. one of so many rescues in a city turned into an inland sea.

from across the us have come volunteers with their boats. now the only way to reach many residents as the water has risen and risen, and risen again. this is a bad storm. they said it was catastrophic. it is catastrophic. as soon as it started creeping up to the front door we had to get out of there. it is overwhelming. i have been crying all morning. thousands have left their homes in the city to find food and a dry floor in shelters. even veterans of fierce weather are stunned by this storm. catastrophic for everybody in houston. you know, i'm from here and i have never seen this. i lived in south carolina for years and went through a lot of hurricanes. never seen anything like this before. empty homes have made a tempting target for criminals. the police are overstretched.

the city's mayor announced a night time curfew. there are too many people from across our city, too many residents that are out of their homes. and they are in shelters. and i don't want them to have to worry about someone breaking into their home or looting or doing anything of that nature while they are away. there was no forced evacuation of the city, most stayed in their homes. now those homes are underwater and help is desperately needed. the water, the current is very strong. and a lot of people don't want to leave their homes. we've got to keep coming back here and when we come back they decide to leave. so we try to get them out as soon as possible. 90 miles east of houston, a city cut off by the water. port arthur has gone into survival mode, says the sheriff, unable to receive help from the outside. 0ne shelter had to be abandoned.

now the city's bowling alley is home for some of its residents. port arthur was slammed with 20 inches of rainfall. we're focused on houston but there are also multiple counties, 50 counties impacted right now. we continue to watch the situation develop and citizens of louisiana are not in the clear. the scale of the floods is breathtaking. houses and roads, shops and hospitals, submerged. reconstruction will be a huge task. but now saving lives is the priority, with residents almost swept away by surging storm water. jonny dymond, bbc news. there are so many boats in this flooded neighbourhood of houston,

they come from all over, some national guard but many volunteers. i spoke to one man who had come 400 miles with his boatjust to come here and see what help he could provide. here he is. luckily we were spared the hurricane down the valley in texas and said we should go to houston and be of help, help people come out of their houses and keep people safe. you have supplies in the boat? yes we have life jackets and water. how long have you been doing this? we got in yesterday. so just one day we have been here. how many people have you seen in that time? probably around five. what kind of circumstances were people in when you found them? just really high water in their houses, really trying to get out and keep themselves safe. just described to

people what the city of houston is like right now? it isjust a pool of water. in just like right now? it isjust a pool of water. injust a lot like right now? it isjust a pool of water. in just a lot of meat. all of the city there are so many volu nteers the city there are so many volunteers waiting in line just to get in and help one another out. it is what america is all about, just helping one another. good luck and thank you. so that was one volunteer and let's take a look at the scene around me which is quite extraordinary, i had never seen anything like it. this is a flooded street in houston where people have abandoned their homes and cars and what we're now seeing, it turned into a what we're now seeing, it turned intoa marina, what we're now seeing, it turned into a marina, a slipway, all these boats have come as people are going out with rescue supplies just to see if anyone is trapped in this neighbourhood behind me. what has happened is there is still controlled flooding opening —— happening from the reservoir outside of houston. so long line of boats

behind me including something i've never seen behind me including something i've never seen before, and airboat powered by air so it can go faster. we have seen amphibious bagels, all manner of things. what is impressive is so many people like the volunteer ijust is so many people like the volunteer i just but to is so many people like the volunteer ijust but to have just come here, hundreds of miles, bringing their boat because they want to be part of the volunteer navy helping out flood of houston. so an extraordinary situation and even though the storm has passed houston and is now battering louisiana, we're still seeing rising flood water here and there were no of when the water is going to recede or indeed what kind of condition their homes are going to be in when they do. so houston right now gripped by an emergency. now back to london. despite reminding you that the governor of texas is due to give a

news c0 nfe re nce governor of texas is due to give a news conference at any time now. he was due to talk to journalists around five o'clock our time. so we will bring you more details pramack news c0 nfe re nce will bring you more details pramack news conference when we get them. north korea says its firing of a ballistic missile overjapan is the first step of military operations in the pacific. the united nations security council unanimously condemned the test, in a statement issued after an emergency meeting last night. in a tweet this afternoon, president trump said, "the us has been talking to north korea, and paying them extortion money, for 25 years. talking is not the answer!" the diplomatic unease coincides with theresa may's visit to japan — she's urged china to put more pressure on north korea to stop its missile testing programme. but beijing said there's too much focus on sanctions, and not enough on peace talks. our first report is from

yogita limaye, who's in the south korean capital seoul. this is the rocket that flew over japan on tuesday morning, according to north korean state television. this is the rocket that flew over japan on tuesday morning, according it's believed to be a hwasong—i2 medium—range missile, the kind pyongyang has threatened to fire at the us pacific island of guam. and north korea has said tuesday's test was the first step towards that plan. it's believed to be a hwasong—i2 medium—range missile, its leader, kim jong—un, monitored the launch and has ordered more such missile drills aimed at targets in the pacific ocean. the threat is very serious. the indication that there are going to be more launches came from kim jong—un himself, so it's definite, they are going to launch more missiles. we should take it seriously because north korea has already said that it's going to advance toward the capability of delivering a nuclear warhead to an american city. north korea's fierce response came as the united nations security

council was meeting in new york. all 15 members of the group condemned pyongyang's actions. the world is united against north korea. there is no doubt about that. it is time for the north korean regime to recognise the danger they are putting themselves in. but no new sanctions were announced by the council. south korea has welcomed the un statement, but is pushing for tougher measures against north korea, as are the us and japan. but even the stringent sanctions passed by the security council earlier this month, banning major exports from north korea and putting economic pressure on the country don't seem to have worked so far. prime minister theresa may is visiting japan a day after a missile flew over the country. the threat from north korea, high on the agenda. well, i want to work with prime minister abe, to work with other international partners, to do what we all want to do, which is to stop north korea from conducting

these illegal activities. we want to work with international partners to see what further pressure can be brought on north korea and, of course, particularly look at what china can do to bring pressure on north korea. beijing has hit back at the prime minister for her comments, saying she should first ensure the country is fully implementing sanctions. china has also blamed the us for escalating tensions and has heavily criticised the joint military exercises being conducted by american and south korean troops. translation: china stands opposed to any chaos or war on the peninsula. enhancing military action on the peninsula will not help towards achieving the goal of demilitarisation or regional stability. on tuesday, south korea also released video of its own missiles, a response to north korea's test.

both sides are caught up in a cycle of aggression. while north korea is high on the agenda, theresa may is also wanting to discuss a post—brexit trade deal, on herfirst trip to japan as prime minister. she's described japan as a like—minded nation, and a natural trading partner — though the country has been forthright in expressing concerns about the impact of britain's departure from the eu on its uk—based firms. this report from rupert wingfield—hayes contains some flash photography. arriving injapan's second city 0saka today, theresa may has landed in the middle of a new north korean missile crisis. but it is primarily trade that japan wants to talk to the british prime minister about this week. and in particular the deal she is negotiating for britain to leave the european union. i'm going to be talking to my japanese counterpart prime minister abe this week about the future

relationship between the united kingdom and japan. about how we can build on what is already a good strong relationship, but build on that in the areas of security, defence and yes, trade. and look to the arrangements that we can put in place when we've left the european union. mrs may was greeted by the japanese prime minister shinzo abe in the ancient capital of kyoto. at a buddhist temple she was treated to a cup of tea. a very japanese one. despite mrs may's confident words, these two leaders are far apart on the issue of brexit. japan is deeply concerned about britain leaving the european union. it is by far the largest asian investor in the uk. over the last 35 years over 1000 japanese companies have invested in britain, creating 150,000 jobs. japanese business owners said their investments were made because britain is in the eu. we are probably the largest asian investor in this country and it

all started when margaret thatcher promoted britain as the bridgehead into the european market. the japanese companies bought that and came in great numbers. there will be much talk here this week of the strength and depth of anglo—japanese ties. but if britain is heading for a hard brexit, those ties are going to be put under severe strain. rupert wingfield hayes, bbc news, in tokyo. in a moment will take you to our brussels reporter adam fleming. first to emma vardy in westminster. a lot hinges on this perhaps not in practical terms but anticipation and desire on the part of the british government now about what deals could ultimately be done with japan.

that is right, it is important for the uk to be seen to be getting out there, forging ahead and getting on there, forging ahead and getting on the front foot with the way it is aiming to show it can develop these post—brexit trading opportunities onceit post—brexit trading opportunities once it is outside of the eu. so important as well to address the concerns of japanese businesses who invested heavily in the uk primarily because they saw it as a gateway to the european market. notjust a concern forjapan of course many countries with investment in the uk because they saw it as this link to the eu. so theresa may is hoping to provide reassurances to japanese firms about the uk and its relationship with the eu post—brexit and many other countries will be watching closely as well. it is important to remember the uk cannot start formal negotiations with japan about any future trade deal so at the moment this is talk, building

foundations, building the kind of show of unity to allay the concerns orany show of unity to allay the concerns or any doubters on both sides. but the missile crisis has somewhat overshadowed any aim to talk about brexit because on the first day of theresa may and her visit, discussions have been formerly focused on security. but she has two more days to go of this visit and no doubt she will want to talk further about the potential trade deal as we go forward. it is also about reassuring brexiteers in the uk that the uk really can deliver on its ambitious plans to forge ahead with trading relationships outside the eu, those kind of promises that were made during the referendum. thank you. let's talk more about brexit with adam fleming in brussels. and

we have had some more striking comments from guy verhofstadt question mark yes the mep is the brexit coordinator for the european parliament. he was appearing in front of the parliamentary committee, the employment committee updating them on his thoughts about brexit. he said the third round of negotiations in his view was making slow progress. he expected progress in some technical areas this week but no big breakthrough. repeating what people are saying behind the scenes that no one was expecting fireworks from this third round of brexit talks this week. it is still about clarifying positions, finding areas were both sides agree and identifying areas of disagreement and trying to nudge towards an agreement. but guy verhofstadt, his comments got short shrift from fired kamal who just issued a statement

saying guy verhofstadt, for him to suggest that sufficient progress had not been made to allow talks to begin on the future relationship with the eu is premature and way beyond his pay grade. unless he has a crystal ball how can he predict the outcome of negotiations at which is not even present. thank you. these are the headlines tonight. tropical storm harvey has made la ndfall tropical storm harvey has made landfall for the third time in the us as the country grapples with an ongoing natural disaster that has so far left more than 20 people dead. north korea says it is firing of a missile overjapan is the first step of its military ambitions in the pacific. and theresa may says britain stands shoulder to shoulder with japan in the face of north korean aggression. she's in the country to discuss trade

post—brexit. if you're struggling with debt, you're more likely to have your credit card limit raised — without asking. that's according to research from citizens advice, which found that nearlyi in 5 of its customers is being given access to more credit, without requesting it. the charity wants a ban on credit extensions without the cardholder's explicit consent. here's our economics correspondent andy verity. borrowing on credit cards has been growing by 9%. farfaster than wages. and citizens advice says irresponsible practices are keeping people in debt they can't get out of. tracy banham ran into trouble when her small—business hit difficulty. she and her partner used credit cards to plug the financial holes. then sickness struck, then separation, and it was all too easy to find a temporary solution by borrowing more. she racked up debts of £37,000. it got to the point where i was just paying off interest, basically. at one point on one credit card,

i was paying £700 a month and probably £60 of that was just coming off the debt. easy to find a temporary solution by borrowing more. she racked up debts of £37,000. it got to the point where i was just paying off interest, basically. at one point on one credit card, i was paying £700 a month and probably £60 of that was just coming off the debt. that was just one of the credit cards. the latest figures from the bank of england confirmed consumers have borrowed just over £200 billion on unsecured loans. with about a third of that on credit cards. yet one in five borrowers have been given higher credit limits without asking for them. 0n 2.2 million credit card accounts borrowers spend more on charges and fees than on repayments. pushing them further into debt. citizens advice says if that goes on for two years, lenders should have to contact borrowers and offer help such as suspending interest payments. credit card holders can still be lent more money to borrow and spend on what they like without lenders ever carrying out checks to make

sure they can afford to repay it. ten years after a crash that was caused by reckless lending. citizens advice said that is wrong and affordability checks should be required whenever credit limits on credit cards are extended. we also think that the regulator can play a bit more of a role so that when credit limits are extended, and this is done in agreement with the customer and the company, that there should be more of an affordability checkjust to make sure that people can afford to pay back the money they are borrowing. the body that represents most credit card lenders, uk finance, says it is taking steps to prevent struggling borrowers being offered more credit, and that it is working with regulators to help people manage their debts. andy verity, bbc news. prince william and prince harry have visited a memorial garden for their mother — on the eve of the 20th anniversary of her death. the white garden in the grounds of kensington palace is dedicated to the life and work of diana, princess of wales. the princes also met representatives of charities she supported. our correspondent richard lister is at kensington palace. this was a moment for the princes to

pay tribute to the life of their mother in a fairly private and personal way and also recognise the impact she had on the charitable world by inviting some of the representatives of six of the charities that princess diana was most closely involved with in the final year of her life, just after the divorce with prince charles. she gave up most of charitable responsibilities and kept these six precious charity is very close. she was especially close to b6, one of them the leprosy mission and you we re them the leprosy mission and you were at the reception earlier. an interesting day for you, where the princes keen to talk to about the mother? they wanted to hear stories about their mother and the impact

that she had. they've seen incredible things that happened when she was overseas but i think they wanted the personal touch and what happened on those visits. and how that can inspire them in their legacy that they carry on for their mother. this was a chance for them to learn a bit more about side of their mother that they would not have seen quite so much of?|j their mother that they would not have seen quite so much of? i got that impression and for us it was a wonderful opportunity to talk about the impact she had and about the work of our charities. i think they have the same heart so it was good for them to hear notjust have the same heart so it was good for them to hear not just about the mission but the charities she was involved in. and how much impact did she has with her patronage of your charity? well she is still having an impact today. the first time she came she did not represent as, but she saw a hospital ward in indonesia

and insisted on going into the water while everyone else stood back behind the doors. she went to hold the hands of those patients at those pictures went around the world. and we wanted her involved and she said yes straightaway. even now we had a representative from nepal who came and talked to the staff in peterborough and spoke of the impact that still having. patients coming back for regular maintenance treatment, that still feel privileged to have met her all those years ago. and those pictures of her holding hands with leprosy went around the country. and she was innovative in reaching out to the victims of hiv and leprosy. someone who bought those barriers down. was it your sense from the other charities represented today that they also had a similar experience in terms of their involvement with

diana question what absolutely, and we had time to share with prince william and prince harry, share those stories. and she spotted vulnerability in people. it was not pa rt of vulnerability in people. it was not part of a strategic plan. it touched a heart and then nothing would get in the way of her reaching out to those people. so great to be able to share that heart. and we saw it personally. thank you so much. this has been a fairly low—key kind of day, the princes came out to meet people who were gathered at the southgate, they took some flowers over to the gates and you can see a small pile of them growing but they're not due to make any kind of public appearance tomorrow, there will be reflecting quietly. prince charles will also be very much marking the moment, the anniversary

of the death of his former wife in private. quite different from ten yea rs private. quite different from ten years ago when of course there was that remembrance service that the queen attended. this time it seems that the princes want a more personal fave reflection. —— that the princes want a more personalfave reflection. —— day of reflection. kezia dugdale has resigned as leader of scottish labour saying it is time to pass the buck on to someone else. she said it was time for a new leader with fresh energy, drive and a new mandate. she was previously criticised —— a pproves was previously criticised —— approves the criticised jeremy corbyn but denied that she was under pressure to leave. simple question. why? why are you going, why stand down?

most political leaders quit at a moment of crisis, something terrible has happened. i have decided that i think the labour party is very much on its uppers. it has made a tremendous amount of progress from the state that i found it in two, two and a half years ago. when it was literally on its knees. now it's time to pass that baton on to the next person. why? i mean, have you found it frustrating, have you found it difficult? i think you say in your resignation letter, it has been fulfilling but also challenging? i inherited a party, people didn't really know what the labour party stood for any more. i used to hear that all time. so i have made the case for progressive taxes, i have made the case for federalism. keep making that case then? why go? i think i have established these as the big issues in scottish politics now, not least educational inequality. and i have enjoyed sparring with the first minister week in, week out, around that. but the work that has to happen now, that's for the next person. two years seems like a very short period of time but actually, when you look at the immensity of what's happened in scottish politics over that, from the independence referendum, to two general elections, a scottish parliament election, a local government election, a referendum on europe. i mean, the immensity of that is huge and it's

had its toll on many people, not least myself. do you thinkjeremy corbyn can go on to become prime minister? do you think he's the right leader for the labour party? i absolutely do believe that he can and will go on in the role that he's doing. he will have my full support in doing that. you will back him in that? of course. and it's not the reason you're leaving? categorically not. but you spoke out against him and criticised, you were critical of him in that earlier period and perhaps some on the left have never forgiven you for that? that may be so. i did that 14 months ago. i haven't said a critical word aboutjeremy since. on a personal level we continue to get on extremely well and i wish him every success for the future. and i will be there right by his side to campaign for him to be the next prime minister. are you going before you were pushed ? absolutely not. i'm going on my terms. i have assessed the situation that the scottish labour party faces, i have looked at my own life and decisions that i want to make around it and i have decided this is time. kezia dugdale, thank you very much. more coming up in the next hour and

more from texas. a look at the weather now with nick miller. sunshine and a look at the weather now with nick miller. sunshine and showers a look at the weather now with nick miller. sunshine and showers with a look at the weather now with nick miller. sunshine and showers with a a look at the weather now with nick miller. sunshine and showers with a decreasing a look at the weather now with nick miller. sunshine and showers with a decreasing number a look at the weather now with nick miller. sunshine and showers with a decreasing number of a look at the weather now with nick miller. sunshine and showers with a decreasing number of showers a look at the weather now with nick miller. sunshine and showers with a decreasing number of showers by a look at the weather now with nick miller. sunshine and showers with a decreasing number of showers by the time we get to friday the weekend but rain is under way for of us. let's look at this evening. range is now in east anglia and south—east england, clearing eastwards. we have that heavy showers in northern ireland and parts of scotland. slowly fading and continuing to weston, coastal parts of the uk. elsewhere, mainly dry. the odd mist and fog patch. temperatures in terms and fog patch. temperatures in terms and cities down into the single figures and places. from the word go tomorrow, north wales and north—west england could see heavy downpours. elsewhere, cloud building during the day, showers breaking out, some are heavy, and slow—moving. certainly a

much warmer day in east anglia and south—east england. temperatures around 13 celsius. mostly dry on saturday before the rain comes in on sunday. this is bbc news. the headlines... tropical storm harvey has made landfall for a third time in the us, as the country's south—eastern region grapples with an ongoing natural disaster which has left more than 20 dead so far. residents of the texan city of port arthur were forced to take refuge in a bowling alley after more than 20 inches of rain fell overnight. two babies also lost their lives. —— cbeebies. in your building? yes,

ma'am. free babies. they were trying to get out. north korea says its firing of a missile overjapan is "the first step" of its military operations in the pacific. theresa may says britain stands shoulder to shoulder with japan in the face of north korean aggression. she's in the country to discuss trade deals post—brexit. and princes william and harry visit a memorial garden for their mother on the eve of the 20th anniversary of her death. more to of those stories but right now, we catch up with all the sports news. hugh woozencroft as that. plenty of transfers to talk about this afternoon. liverpool are in talks to bring alex 0xlade—chamberlain do until just talks to bring alex 0xlade—chamberlain do untiljust one

day after chelsea agreed a fee for the winner. he had been the subject of an agreed deal between arsenal and chelsea. £40 million was the fee they were settled on. he rejected it. he was the understanding that he was leaving arsenal, where he was playing at right wingback, to join chelsea and play at right wingback. he said he didn't want to do that. he said he didn't want to do that. he wanted to join liverpool, he said he didn't want to do that. he wanted tojoin liverpool, his boyhood club. at a time, they had not put an offer in for him. they have now and it has been rejected. talks under way between the clubs. he will go to liverpool and play central at arsenal and ch the final year of his contract. chelsea also had a £25 million bid rejected by everton. it was for midfielder ross barkley. the offer was way below the £50 million valuation. he will be available on a free transfer at the end of next season. totte n ha m season. tottenham have signed an argentinian defender. the 19-year-old has signed

a five—year contract with spurs. the most powerful man in tennis, president of the itf david haggerty, has said there were concerns over players' health and needs to be evil bust conversations about the calendar. this comes as five top players, including three former champions, missed out on this year's us open with injuries. the leaders that we have today in the sport are very open to these conversations and concerned about the health of the players, but also the success of tennis. so i think the next week, as we have these stakeholder meetings together, i know this is on the docket to be discussed and i'm sure we will have will bussed conversations. the idea of the claire —— play a role is important there as well. they will be a major study of concussions and brain injuries this season in rugby. it is not to be the biggest of its kind in the history of uk sport. it involves a pitch

side saliva swab to diagnose brain injuries. the english rugby union's medical officer also advocates changes in the way that players tackle. the game, informed by this evidence, does need to think more about concussion prevention. really welcome sanctions being stressed by world rug by welcome sanctions being stressed by world rugby that gay men injanuary of this year. but only one third of concussions happen to the ball carrier. two thirds happen to the tackler. there is more work that we need to do. we need to be in closing performance optimised tackle technique that reduces the risk of inadvertent head contact. chris froome has taken a big step towards winning a title as he opened up a one minute and 19 second lead on the field after today's 11 stage. chris froome increased his overnight lead as he finished second to his colombian opponent. the overall

second rider lost time yesterday and chris froome now leads by 79 seconds. froome is aiming to become the first rider to win the tour de france and vuelta in the same year since frenchman bernard hinault in 1978. britain has won their first world judo championship medal for seven years as nekoda davis took bronze in the 57 kilogram category in budapest this afternoon. davis was leading the reperchage final against panama's miriam roper but won when her opponent fell awkwardly and damaged her knee. euan burton won britain's last world medal in tokyo in 2010. that is all the sport for now. i will have a full round—up in sportsday attacked by six. i will see you then. hugh woozencroft there with the sport. let's return to one of top stories — the situation in houston and the surrounding areas, where local volunteers are stepping in to help with the search and rescue of people caught up in the floods.

addicks reservoir and surrounding neighbourhoods have faced particularly severe water levels. the bbc followed teams on trucks and boats as they searched for those in need. this is a bad storm. they said it was catastrophic, it is catastrophic. as soon as it started to creep up to the front door, we had to get out of there. it is overwhelming. i have been crying all morning. it is now flush with the road, coming over the bridge. the streets were flooded before we could get out. if they had told us, you're going to be in an evacuation zone, get out now, i could have pulled my truck out of my garage. and i would be high and dry with a car instead of having it parked in my garage in floodwater. it is definitely heartbreaking to see, we have been in homes, pulling people out of homes, infants, older couples. but it is good that we have

people like us who stick together and work together. we will probably try for a couple of hours until it starts to get dark or if the water gets too much worse. we've still got to be able to get out of here, and we have to make it back home this evening. we will do what we can. terrifying. i haven't seen anything like this ever. it smells really bad, like gas in there. it is crazy. i really do not know what i am doing at this point in time. that is part of the search and rescue efforts. volunteers helping your addicks reservoir. robert stein is a professor of political science at rice university — who has done extensive research

into the preparation and behaviour response to severe weather events. thank you so much for your time tonight. when you watch the tv pictures, as i guess you have been, of everything happening in our last few days, what goes through your mind about the preparedness or otherwise of places like houston?m is difficult to prepare for an event thatis is difficult to prepare for an event that is not expected to occur about once every 1000 years. the truth of the matter is the city has had regarding severe weather. it has made preparations. in the aftermath of this, i think the city, county and region will be commended for its response and how few people suffered terrible damages to the lives. today, we had probably fewer than six drownings and deaths. it is easy to say that we should have evacuated but we did that previously and we

lost more lies with people attempting to evacuate. many people had flooding they could not have anticipated. there was simply no way in which we could have had an evacuation. this is a city of 2.3 million in a region of three in four counties with over 6 million. the mayor gets high marks, as does the counting judge, for their response. this is not something you can practice for. as i said before, there is no way to predict will the flooding is. just to clarify, you're saying that there could not be targeted evacuation because there is simply too many people living in that one area? no, the point is you could not tell people who was gone to flood into was not. it is interesting, the researcher have done with my colleagues are showing that many people who had bad experiences with flooding, sarge, wind and power outages, they take precautionary efforts to evacuate

all, as they said, provide provisions. many people who have never had any problems with any previous severe never had any problems with any previous severe weather or hurricane ‘s had no reason to expect this. we could not, as a city, meteorologists and ecologists, could not tell people where they would flood. we're letting what a router reservoirs as we speak and yet we still don't know exactly what areas and subsidies —— subdivisions will be required evacuate. they're asking people to make predictions cannot make. the consequences of telling people to evacuate when you're not ready or have not been evacuated before puts thousandsif have not been evacuated before puts thousands if not millions of people on the road. that could mean more risk. it is easy to look at this retrospectively but i think, again, when we look at this more carefully, and we will, many will look at this, the city will not be criticised, other county, for not ordering the mass evacuation of millions of people. from here on in, presumably the biggest problem is where are

people going to live? it is glittery months and months, if not years, perhaps, katrina tells us, before people can get back into their homes. will there have been preparation for that? again, i think the question is almost awed. how do you prepare for an event that almost occurs once every 1000 years and replace what might be as many as 100,000 or more people who are homeless? i think that the city are cou nty homeless? i think that the city are county —— and county are in uncharted water and the rest of the world, particularly coastal areas, wa nt to world, particularly coastal areas, want to watch carefully and assist the region and recovering from this. we're not the only region likely to see this kind of problem. the simple fa ct of see this kind of problem. the simple fact of the matter is we are the fourth—largest city. you cannot prepare for this permanently with that many people. we will be challenged to cv can has people on a temporary basis as they get back on their feet. again, there temporary basis as they get back on theirfeet. again, there is no precedent for this. it is not...

there are many other coastal areas that will see this, whether it is a hurricane or otherwise on the west coast. i take your point about the sheer numbers involved here. people understand that. i was just your views because people watching from this country, for example, will say, well, hurricane could train was in louisiana and was only 12 years ago. —— hurricane katrina. 0ne assumes what would have been learned from the experiences of the authorities then. i would say this. i never want to generalise from one event to another. be evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people, one third of the city of new orleans, on buses, to the city in histon and elsewhere, it led to some 25,000 people from new it led to some 25,000 people from n ew 0 rlea ns it led to some 25,000 people from new orleans living in a city now. many others scattered in parts of texas and louisiana. this is a home—grown problem. it is a problem of our own citizens. we need to find

shelter for the next few weeks but probably housing for months, if not a year or longer as homes are repaired and rebuilt. and i think as iam about repaired and rebuilt. and i think as i am about to leave after i talk to you, i'm going to neighbours and we're going to help them not only recover and clean up their homes, but i suspect my living room and guest room will be filled with my friends and neighbours for weeks, if not months. this is what you do a committee latest on. very different from katrina. you had to find shelter for people in ways they could be permanently resettled. many people attempt to rebuild, many will not. they will have to move from areas which are permanently unable and uninhabitable for reconstruction. really interesting to talk to. thank you for your time. thank you so much for joining you for your time. thank you so much forjoining us tonight. it is edging up forjoining us tonight. it is edging up to quarter to six. we're keeping an eye on all of that. the press

update, the news briefing we expected from the texas governor still has not started. we expected one about 40 minutes ago. if we get any more details on that, we will let you know. for now, we turn our attention is to the other main story today. more now on the warning from north korea that its firing of a ballistic missile overjapan is its first step of military operations in the pacific. it coincides with theresa may's visit to japan — where she urged china to put more pressure on north korea to stop its missile testing programme. let's talk a little bit more about china's role in this. joining me is professor steve tsang, director of the china institute at the school of oriental & african studies. very good evening to you. we have had a little bit about theresa may wanting to put pressure on china and china's response to that sounded quite irritated. that is how it came across. what was your ta ke is how it came across. what was your take on that? the chinese probably

felt irritated because the chinese are expecting the british prime minister to be taking a position which is very understanding of china's predicaments. and they would see it as being unhelpful because they simply no longer expect the united kingdom to speak its mind as directly as theresa may has done. when you say, understand china's predicament, how would you describe it? china has predicaments, which is on the one hand the chinese do not really wa nt on the one hand the chinese do not really want to have all these problems over north korea, and they may well be the closest ally north korea has. they may well be the one supporting the north korean economy, but the actual influence over the north korean regime is limited. the only thing they can do to force the north koreans to change is to cut off the economic lifeline to the north korean government. if the

chinese government were to do so, it risks potentially leading to the north korean regime imploding. the communist party of china will not tolerate such a scenario. and the north koreans know that, so the north koreans know that, so the north koreans know which buttons to press against the chinese and the chinese know the north koreans know the game. and it is not a huge amount they can do about it. that is why they find it very irritating when the british prime minister says the obvious things that china needs to do something about north korea. 0k. plenty of people, diplomats, expansion boss of countries, say the a nswer expansion boss of countries, say the answer here has to be diplomacy. nobody wants something more aggressive than that. 0ut nobody wants something more aggressive than that. out of the a nswer aggressive than that. out of the answer has to be diplomacy, could china play any role in trying to persuade, trying to effect that, so

that people can sit around a table and discuss it? the chinese will have to play much more proactive role in that if we're going to have any chance of diplomacy working. i think the americans have already tried. there are some back channel negotiations between the north koreans and americans. they are not getting very far. north korea at the moment is playing a quite clever but, ina moment is playing a quite clever but, in a sense, quite childish game. it is a kind of behaviour were, i do this, and poking you in the eye, what you going to do about it? if you do something, you will kill me but also kill yourself. thank you very much, for now. we'll talk about this again but very good of you to talk to us. we arejust going

we are just going to return to texas. we are in the state capital, austin, and we are waiting for an update from the texas governor on tropical storm harvey. the rescue and relief effort. we know how many thousands of people have been displaced as a result of days of torrential rain. let's see what he says. good afternoon. there is a lot to report. some new information. first, arica about yesterday. that is, as you know, the president of the us was here in the state of texas. first in corpus christi to talk to local officials about challenges they were facing because of damages incurred in counties, especially the very hard—hit incurred in counties, especially the very ha rd—hit counties incurred in counties, especially the very hard—hit counties around rockport. the desperate needs they have to get power restored as well

as to begin the rebuilding process. the president was he that this operation centre and got to see what we do. his commitment was firm, strong and unequivocal, that he was going to do everything he could to ensure that texas will be restored as swiftly and effectively as possible. as we all know, there has been rapidly changing conditions in the state of texas. while at the same time, we are beginning the rebuilding process around the coastal region. and while we are dealing with what is now receding waters in harris county and the ongoing evacuation as well as safety rescue ongoing evacuation as well as safety rescu e process ongoing evacuation as well as safety rescue process in harris county, we are now also dealing with catastrophic conditions in

south—east texas. and those conditions are a threat to life and property. and that has required that we ta ke property. and that has required that we take measures to do all we can to help protect them. i will cover part of that in various different categories as i go through this discussion. first, let me tell you that since i last an —— and emstrey staters of the national guard in texas, i last announced that we had 12,000 national guard members activated. that number has been increased to 14,000. the reason for thatis increased to 14,000. the reason for that is because some members have come back from deployment overseas. 0thers come back from deployment overseas. others who were unable to participate because their own homes have been subject to flooding or damage, they are now able to help dissipate. the bottom line is, we're now up to highest level of the

number of texas national guard members who are deployed to help our fellow texa ns members who are deployed to help our fellow texans do with these challenges. we are also, as we speak, quad and eating with the national guard bureau. —— coordinating with the national guard bureau to deploy a further 10,000 national guard, being deployed from other states. that will take us up toa other states. that will take us up to a total of approximately 24,000 national guard, who will be deployed in the state of texas. some of those will be a —— positioned in the greater harris county region. there will be more in south—east texas to deal with the emergency conditions that people face in south—east texas and we will continue to deploy more west of the harris county area, all the way through victoria to the coastal region. we are also getting,

immediately, 200 boats and vehicles from the department of defence to be assigned when needed, as you might imagine. there was neither the area for that is in the south—eastern area, as well as in the greater harris county area. i have fast for and received an expansion of the number of counties added to the federal disaster declaration. it has gone" federal disaster declaration. it has gone... now, the total is 33 counties. they are part of the federal disaster declaration. we have added 14 counties. i want to

list these counties so that people in these counties will understand that by being included in this federal disaster declaration, individuals, as well as local governments, are going to be eligible to receive aid from the —— fema. i will first list 11 counties that have a complete federal disaster declaration that includes both individual assistance as well as public assistance. these new counties include colorado county, fayette county, hardin county, jasper county, jefferson county, montgomery county, newton county, 0range montgomery county, newton county, orange county, sabine kehm t, —— cou nty orange county, sabine kehm t, —— county and waller county. for counties have been added to the

disaster declaration where public assistance is available but individual assistance is not. the reason for that is these for —— four counties were not the subject of design... disaster is the way these other counties are but they are aiding in the support of the disaster. they include dallas and bear county. counties providing public assistance in dealing with challenges such as sheltering evacuees, providing law enforcement and other assistance to the efforts. i watched to emphasise something very important that i will come back to several times during my remarks. for the people in these counties are just listed, especially those 11 counties that are going to be

receiving individual assistance, you need to write down this website address. it is... disasterassistance.gov. if you add in one of the counties that is part of the disaster declaration, you will be eligible for immediate support from fema that you can register to receive from disasterassistance. gov, and register to receive from disasterassistance.gov, and i will talk more about that later. let me talk more about that later. let me talk a bit about the weather. where we are and where we're going. first, the rain that was received in the greater harris county area is an all—time record. now that rain has moved to the beaumont region in south—east texas. approximately 15

inches of rain have already fallen in the area. there is more to come. the worst is not yet over four south—east texas. that is as far as the rain is concerned. there will be ongoing challenges both during the time the rain continues to fall as well as four days to one week to come. we mentioned specifically flooding conditions will continue to bea flooding conditions will continue to be a challenge for people in the area. that includes the sabine and nachos —— and other rivers. and the flooding could last for a week. major flooding will continue for a few days in the beaumont region and river regions where there could be extensive flooding for about one week, if not longer. in the lower

colorado region, there should be flooding for the rest of the week. 0ver flooding for the rest of the week. over in victoria, there should be ongoing flooding for a few days. it is important for people in all of these regions, as well as in every cou nty affected these regions, as well as in every county affected by storms, that you continue to listen to and he'd local warnings about evacuation. so, listen to, he'd and follow evacuation notices. 0n listen to, he'd and follow evacuation notices. on top of that, a lwa ys evacuation notices. on top of that, always please remember, and that is if there is flooding around your area, do not drive into the flooded area. many otherwise, if not most of the lives lost in this devastating storm so far our lives lost because people have been driving vehicles in the flooded waters. do not drive your vehicle into flooded waters. so, the update from the texas

governor continues. we will keep an eye on that and continuing coverage of the update throughout the evening on bbc news. 33 counties are now pa rt on bbc news. 33 counties are now part of the federal disaster declaration in texas. 14 have been added. so, 33 are now part of that. more coverage of that story throughout the night on bbc news. we leave you with the six 0'clock news with george alou diarra. —— six 0'clock news. tonight at six — donald trump's warning to north korea — the time for talking is over.

the missile launch that's outraged the world — it was shot overjapan sending people into shelters. and there's more to come — that's the message from the north korean dictator. these are illegal tests, and it is outrageous, it is provocation and they should be stopping them. theresa may was speaking injapan where she's hoping to discuss a post—brexit trade deal. also tonight: five days and there are still people in texas to rescue — next in storm harvey's path is neighbouring louisiana. credit card companies underfire — if you're struggling with debt the last thing you need is the chance to borrow even more. princes william and harry on the eve of the 20th anniversary