it is dangerous to be on the roads late at night. i've decided to impose a curfew starting immediately. >> security and public safety are key moving forward. one plif has died trying to help, while countless stories of heroism abound. one involves forming a human chain to rescue a pregnant woman. and plenty more to share with you. but right now, our bill karins says the flooding in beaumont, texas is reaching biblical proportions, with 26 inches of rain in the past 24 hours. >> the people of lakewood run credible. they want to help. sometimes the worst of times brings out the best in us. >> houston preacher joel osteen

criticized for not immediately opening his church faces his critics. all that as north korea continues to agitate the world with missile tests. "early today" starts right now. good wednesday morning. i'm frances rivera. this morning, houston wakes up under a mandatory curfew as authorities focus on pub live safety during one of america's worst natural disasters. harvey is the most extreme rain event in u.s. history. in harris county alone, a trillion gallons of rain has l fallen over four days. harvey will have dumped about 1 million gallons of water for every man, woman and child in southeast texas. now, a ninth fatality has been confirmed. among the lives lost, houston police officer sergeant steve

perez. a 34-year-old veteran on his way -- i should say a 34-year veteran, on his way to help victims. >> we did find him. once our dive team got there, it was too treacherous to go under and look for him. so we made a decision to leave officers there waiting until the morning, because as much as we wanted to recover him last night, we could not put more officers at risk. for in our hearts we knew it was going to be a recovery mission. >> over 18,000 people have now been rescued in houston and the surrounding areas. over 17,000 evacuees are in shelters. president trump surveyed the response efforts firsthand, and he spoke to first responders in a large crowd vowing texas would get through the disaster. >> we're going to get you back and operating immediately. thank you, everybody.

what a crowd, what a turnout. i will tell you, this is historic. it is epic. what happened. but you know what? it happened in texas, and texas can handle anything. >> i want to turn now to my co-an for there in texas, who is at one of the bigger shelters there. they were way past capacity the last time you checked with you, phillip. i'm sure even more people coming in throughout the night and morning. >> reporter: yeah, people are continuing to come in. we got the chance to see, frances, the sun come up for the first time for days. such a welcomed relief. but we cannot let our guard down. those evacuations and rescues do continue at this hour. mainly near those two very crucial reservoirs that are now overspilling into those neighborhoods. so those rescues are still taking place. those evacuations are still happening. and those evacuees are coming here is the main shelter that is

in downtown houston. there are now 10,000 people here. they needed to open new shelters. there are dozens now open right next door to the toyota secente where the houston rockets play. and last night they announced that nrg center is also going to be open for the influx of evacuees that they are expecting because of the flooding. now, each and every person that comes through here has their own unique and incredible story of survival and rescue. this is a day they'll never forget, the day they had to leave their homes and leave behind and not know what they were going to return to. speaking to them has just been moving. let's hear from a young mother and her rescue story. >> and we were like waving them down for help so they couldn't see us or hear us because the

truck is so loud. so we went inside and laid down for the fight and figured we would try to get rescued in the morning. the next morning, they brought us to the campbell center. and from there, they put us on metro buss and took us here. water was up to our necks. our -- water was everywhere, just all over our apartment complex. the inside of our apartment complex was up to our thighs. i seen snakes slither into the water. i seen dead animals floating around. it was just really upsetting and scary. >> reporter: it is a really scary in that moment. and now comes the hardest part, waiting, not knowing when or if they'll be able to return to their homes. that to me seems to be the toughest part is the uncertainty. there's still very much that threat of flooding, and our

colleague garrick haik is in weft houston with the latest on that flooding. >> reporter: good morning to you. i'm standing on highway 6 in houston. this is normally a busy six-lane road. this morning, it is impassable. it's a lake. you need a boat to get across the highway behind me. we're not far from the addick's reservoir. this is part of the concern for first responders in houston. while we're not expected to get any rain, the water levels continue to rise in the reservoir, well above its record high. they're having to run water through it and out into the bayous and out into the neighborhoods to keep something catastrophic from happening if those dams were to falter, the addick's and barker, two names you're used to hearing, as city

officials watch those two structures on the west side. more than 18,000 rescues recorded by law enforcement agencies and first responders. that doesn't count the hundreds of rescues we've seen by neighbors helping neighbors, people coming in from other parts of texas and louisiana, bringing their flat bottom boats and pulling people out of their houses, trying to get them to the shelters that are popping up all over the city. we are in a curfew situation until about 5:00 local time. so all but the most dire rescue needs are being essentially placed on hold until the sun comes up, when they will resume again today in full force. >> garrett, thank you. frances, that is always the most encouraging thing that we've seen here, any time there's the flooding and there's rescue needed. of course, the full force of the government and these responders, they come and help. but we're seeing these neighbors. we had a call for anybody who had a boat or large trucks to come out and help. and people have come from all

over. we've seen people from oklahoma and louisiana, they come just out of the goodness of their heart. >> i was speaking to a new york city police officer just yesterday. he said members of their force are on their way, headed there now. phillip mena, we'll hear from you later on. so one of the literal bright spots out of houston is the sun making its appearance. unfortunately, that's not the case for people in beaumont, bill, as it makes landfall again. >> i'm certain the people in beaumont that are fighting for their lives right now because of the high water. incredible rainfall rate. it's rained harder in beaumont than it did in houston. in six hours, they had ten inches of rain. in 24 hours, they've had a staggering 26 inches of rain, for a storm total of 43 inches, and it's still raining in beaumont. we are going to be watch thing

storm make landfall this morning. but it's going to wrap around lake charles, beaumont, port arth arthur, then spread to the north. we have storm areas in tennessee and the gulf coast. all eyes on new orleans to see how they fair with the rainfall. here's the forecast. by wednesday evening, by this evening in central louisiana, then heading up through tennessee and kentucky. with all eyes on port arthur and beaumont. i  falling through a

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saying his church has never closed or rejected people. and this morning, he'll face tough questions firsthand on "today." now to houston, where those affected by the historic floods, they saw a rare sight, one not seen in days. the sun appeared, giving much light to those in need of hope as they face misery and despair. but as gabe gutierrez reports, residents are bracing for another hit. harvey preparing to make a third landfall. >> reporter: one by one, hundreds more swept up in houston's rescue effort, swelling to an epic scale. >> we've been here 25 years, never been close with high water. >> reporter: u.s. customs and border controls, saving homeowners stranded. others hoisted to safety. the catastrophe taking its toll, and claiming more lives.

>> if you could find them and once our dive team got there, it was too treacherous to go under and look for him. >> reporter: houston's police chief breaking down as he described one of the newly confirmed deaths, one of their own, 34-year veteran sergeant steve perez drowned when flood waters overcame his vehicle. his wife is devastated. >> she tells me, i told him not to go to work. and his response was, we've got work to do. >> reporter: a pair of 70-year-old reservoirs that protect downtown houston started overflowing, even after engineers began releasing water from them on monday to ease pressure on the dams. but the rain kept coming, and now new fears that more neighborhoods will flood. >> we heard that the flood gates of the dams would be released. we knew we were going to be in for a world of hurt. >> reporter: south of houston, authorities posted a warning on twit they are a levy was breached, urging people to get out now.

harvey has shattered the u.s. record for rainfall during a tropical system. a weather station reported more than 50 inches, topping the high of 48 state in 1978. in harris county alone, a trillion gallons of rain has fallen over four days, which is more than falls over niagara falls in two weeks. waving a texas flag, president trump toured corpus christi. >> this is historic, it's epic what happened. but you know what? it happened in texas and texas can handle anything. >> reporter: the red cross says more than 17,000 evacuees are in shelters. and for the first time in a very long time, the sun has come out in this part of houston. houston police say they have arrested more than a dozen looters. but for the most part, the aftermath has been orderly. there are fears the death toll could climb. but right now the focus is on the rescue efforts.

authorities say some homes could be under water for up to a month. frances? >> dave, thank you. as we see victims of harvey being rescued and taking shelter across texas, many of you are wanting to help. we have a list of national and local charitable organizations linked on our facebook page, including ways to donate to the state's diaper bank and network of food banks. the salvation army is accepting donations and the red cross is collecting donations on phone, online and via text. we'll be right back. ...companies... ...solve problems. how? we eat. we eat almonds... ...strawberries... ...quinoa. and yeah...we eat chocolate. ♪ we eat in sweatpants... ...in skirts. we eat alone... ...and together. women are strong. we eat, and we own it. special k. for 100 years,

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this morning, kim jong-un vows to press ahead with even more nuclear missile tests in the pacific. the north korean leader claims the launch drills are necessary to modernize his military strategic capability. nbc's richard engel reports. >> reporter: north korea released images of its leader happily overseeing the regime's latest missile launch. a launch that triggered warnings in japan. alarms and text alerts telling people to take cover. the ballistic missile traveling 1500 miles over the japanese island of hoe kkkaido landing i the pacific ocean. >> i think enough is enough. >> reporter: japan's prime minister calling it

unprecedented. and a rebuke from president trump, who said all options are on the table. but when pressed how the u.s. would respond -- >> we'll see. >> reporter: but the u.s. has been preparing for an even bigger danger than a missile test. we're now heading to a secure bunker, it's carved right into the heart of a mountain outside seoul. and if north korea ever were to attack, u.s. and south korean forces could continue to operate from here. it's a place of last resort. >> you've got to be able to command and control various units on the peninsula. >> reporter: colonel chad carol giving us rare access to what is the doomsday bunker, military commanders would use it to survive an assault and launch a counteroffensive. a lot of people work here? >> enough to get the job done. >> reporter: war planners expect the north would use chemical weapons. so they may have to stay in here for a long time. and in here training on how to repel an all-out invasion from north korea's massive army.

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visiting texas to survey damage from harvey. today he'll look to change the conversation all together, even as his administration deals with the storm. let's go to tracy pots on capitol hill. >> reporter: while president trump continues to oversee the federal response to harvey, he heads to missouri today to talk about lowering tax rates and getting rid of deductions. the president's job, to drum up support from congress getting involved in tax reform. republicans here on capitol hill would deal with a lot of the details. but will they really be actually able to get it done? they're counting on president trump to make the case today, while they start to work on legislation next month. >> tracy, thank you. just ahead, a look at the amazing outpouring of support for harvey relief efforting. you're watching "early today." shawn evans: it's 6 am. 40 million americans are waking up to a gillette shave. and at our factory in boston, 1,200 workers are starting their day

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(colonial penn jingle) harvey's wrath. the rescue's continues in houston as the tropical storm gets set to make a third land fall. explosion concern. more people in texas forced to evacuate as a chemical plant sends out a warning and that plant has local connections. we have a lot to get to this morning. coming up on 4:00 a.m. good morning. nbc 10 news today first look at four. >> i'm tracey davidson. >> i'm ted greenberg. thank you for being with us. we are looking at sunshine today, but harvey is not finished yet. bill henley is here with the neighborhood forecast. >> good morning, ted. at the shore done with the rain.

puddles on beach avenue this morning. clouds overhead. clouds moving out. the rain has already exited the area. look how dry the hip bottom atlantic city cape may that is completely offshore. no rain for the rest of the day. still scattered clouds. see more and more sunshine. temperatures almost fall like. 57 in the lehigh valley. little bit of a north wind at eight miles an hour. dry wind for us. bringing in the cooler air. north at 13 miles an hour in philadelphia. king of prussia 62 degrees by 9:00 this morning and into the 70s this afternoon. mostly sunny skies. including the shore which will warm to 74 degrees later today. break it down hour by hour. show you what's ahead for your day when i come back in a few minutes. first, jessica boyington watching first alert traffic. this morning we're going to start in trenton new jersey right now. crash on route 129 northbound side. just right near hamilton avenue. have that whole area closed and

detoured around the scene. you'll be adding about five minutes or so across your trip. other than that you'll be good getting around the scene there. also watching 42. the 42 freeway around the atlantic city expressway. looks a little blurry right now. this direction is headed northbound towards philadelphia. here's southbound towards the shore. no problems or delays. growing to end here on the vine street expressway. open in both directions. not dealing with construction. now to breaking news we're following for you overnight. fire engulfs a ben salem house leaving an elderly couple dead. >> see the charred remains of the home after the early morning blaze. matt delucia joins us live from the scene. firefighters have it under control. right behind me see a lot of firefighters here at the scene at this point. this is the house on the # 00 block of kings lane. fire started around 12:30 this morning. quickly consume