this tuesday on "world news now" -- over capacity, as the waters keep rising across houston, so is the number of evacuees seeking shelter. tens of thousands need to be lifted from the storm zone. but what awaits many of them still remains uncertain. >> and the forecast doesn't offer much hope, with rain expected to keep the floodwaters at historic levels, forcing more rescues. but also bringing out the best in people, with bands of volunteers patrolling neighborhoods by boat, looking to help. japan reacting to north korea launching a missile over its neighbor. what does this mean for the u.s., as it looks for a peaceful

we do say good morning, everybody. we're going to start with our focus here in the u.s. there's multiple flash flood warnings in effect, in southeast texas and southern louisiana. as much as 15 inches of rain expected before dawn. >> crews are work around the clock to rescue people stranded from the floodwaters at home, businesses and vehicles. the rescuers are using boats, helicopters and everything else at hand. >> the houston convention center has 7,000 evacuees, 2,000 more than capacity. >> the city's mayor says the shelter will not turn anyone away.

>> reporter: the evacuees keep coming in by the busload at the houston convention center, where they are reaching capacity. the numbers are growing exponentially all day long. we spoke to one woman who walked in after a helicopter rescue, shivering cold and holding a 3-month-old baby. they walked in with enough supplies to last them a few days. those are the types of stories we're seeing here at the convention center. take a look behind me. that's the registration desk. that's where all these people who have left their homes are checking in with the red cross and getting all their information in. and that room directly to the left, behind the registration desk, that's where they're getting dry clothes, food, water, very welcome after going through, perhaps, a day and a half of nonstop rain and flooding they've been dealing with. the good news here is that the donations continue to pour in. that's excellent for the red cross. they made it clear, there's need for more nurses, social workers and volunteers. that's what they're asking for at the george r. brown convention center in houston,

texas, which has transformed into what they're calling a megashelter here. >> megashelter, indeed. and the mayor saying, even though they're well over capacity, they will continue to welcome people. the need is there. of course, the u.s. military is helping out their end, doing h heeroic work. >> this is a video showing a crew rescuing five people in houston flood waters. texas has its entire national guard on duty. about 12,000 troops. new video showing the texas air guard taking evacuees to dallas. other states are sending troops to assist with the air and water rescues. the depth of the floodwaters are making it difficult for rescuers to reach people. >> massive dump trucks made several runs in one neighborhood, carrying dozens of people to safety. our houston station, ktrk, was there, as people made it to dry land.

days old. he and his wife just had her. so, we're waiting on them to get in. we're trying to get them as fast as they can before anything happens to her. >> oh, my gosh. i was telling you about the little baby. let's not wake her. that might be a tow truck of some sort. that's a front end loader. how long have you been operating this thing? >> all day. around 10:00 a.m. this morning. start to help the people. >> what's it like back there? how many people are still back there? >> there's a lot of people. they're not getting enough help. they're calling for help. not getting enough help. we saw it firsthand. somehow you have to get bigger units out there. army trucks are needed. a lot of people don't want to risk their boats. >> someone said virtually every intersection as you drive back there, there's groups of people waiting.

we had people that wanted to climb the truck while it was moving. people are panicking. it's late. it's raining. it could get worse. >> the environmental protection agency is set to start testing the floodwaters for contamination, speaking of getting worse. it's not known how much sewage, chemicals or germs are mixed in that water. but teams want to determine that as soon as possible to see how dangerous the waters really are. after hurricane katrina, officials linked deaths to exposure of hazardous floodwaters. one reason why images like this one is so disturbing. an 80-year-old stroke victim trapped in her houston home, with the water rising to her hospital bed. she has since been rescued. >> we continue to get the images in. president trump is promising billions of dollars in federal disaster aid for parts of texas,

the zone today. >> the president announced plans to return to texas and louisiana over the weekend. adding that recovery will be a long and difficult road. he said fema's $3 billion disaster fun will be there for immediate relief. and he's asking lawmakers for more to help texas rebuild. >> you'll see action from congress and the president. and you're going to get your funding. it's a terrible tragedy. we think that congress will feel very much the way i feel. in a bipartisan way, that will be nice. we think you'll have what you need. and it will go fast. >> republican lawmakers in texas had overwhelmingly opposed the $50 million aid package in the aftermath of superstorm sandy. which devastated parts of the northeast. some republican lawmakers in new york and new jersey reminded them of that decision. said they will still support harvey aid. ted cruz and john rn

no because of unrelated spending attached to sandy package. well, many are waiting to see what the funding package will be from harvey. let's get an update from from on the ground in houston. lana zak is there in the rain. it looks like it's not really letting up. what's the latest? >> it really is not. good morning, kendis and diane. some parts of harris county has three feet of rain. that's record breaking, certainly. it's all the more concerning when you realize that the water doesn't stay stationary. it pools. it has been pooling in reservoirs, bayous, levees here in houston and the gulf coast. they are oversaturated. we saw that on the first day of the tropical storm. as a result today, many -- yesterday, rather, two of the

reservoirs had to have planned releases of the water there. that affected thousands of homes with additional flooding. that was a necessary precaution that officials needed to take to relieve some of the pressure from the dams. those dams broke, we wouldn't be talking about even more serious circumstances. that's part of the reason why we have seen so many evacuees continue to pour in throughout the day, overnight. and the rescues just continue. people calling in saying the rainwaters, as you can see, have been unrelenting. and the winds are pretty awful, as well. but all of that, combines for these flash flood considerations that are not only being felt in houston and the texas coast, but increasingly in louisiana, with new orleans giving a new warning about that, as well. kendis? diane? >> lana, i want to ask you about it. a subscript. a lot of people don't realize that pastor joel osteen's church is in the houston area.

gaining some traction. >> yeah. i'm actually looking at it. it's right behind the camera right now. we are in the same area as the church. here's the problem. when the main -- when there's so many evacuees, when the main convention center, we left there late at night, they had 7,000 people. they were only supposed to have 5,000 people there. but the evacuees continued to come. the red cross wasn't going to turn anybody away. they were going to push people together and many people were going to sleep without cots. in this case, people are wondering why the church, this megachurch that is nationally known, hasn't opened its doors. they responded they had some flooding, which is something some people around here are will say there is a great deal of need.

>> one of our producers walked around the grounds of that church overnight. and he said he didn't notice a lot of flooding there. might have been underground flooding. but he didn't see it, at least, in the roadways there. lana, thank you. in louisiana, as lana mentioned, is gearing up for harvey. >> a federal emergency has been declared in five southwestern parishes. all schools and government offices are closed today in new orleans where up to ten inches of rain is still in the forecast. let's find out what tropical storm harvey is expected to do today. >> accuweather's paul williams has the latest on the forecast for us. paul, good morning. >> good morning, kendis, diane. we are expecting the heaviest of rainfall, not only hitting the houston area, moving to parishes of louisiana and of lafayette, over to

we could see eight inches of rain in portions of louisiana and getting closer to the new orleans area. here's the reason why. harvey is going to slowly walk its along the eastern portions of texas and slide to the mississippi valley region. but that will have to take until saturday. kendis? diane? we will get a look at other headlines, including breaking news that north korea has launched a missile over japan, prompting an urgent response. maria sharapova returns to the u.s. open in style. you're watching "world news now."

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flooded roadway here in beaumont, texas, claimed two vehicles in quick succession. both drivers drove into the standing water, only to find out it was deeper than they thought. >> both drivers were rescued by the is a same woman. watch as she manages to get into one of the cars. pulls out the people inside. you can see that person clinging to her. >> look at her. >> she goes back in to pry the second person out of the car, as well. you can see how deep the waters

watch how quickly that car just sinks right into the water. unbelievable how fast this whole thing happens. and you can see her go back for the second driver. >> amazing work on her part. >> we've seen a lot of this, too. there's so many calls that come in. it's hard for emergency responders to get to people calling 911. so, we see video after video of regular people going in to help their fellow neighbors. >> it also doesn't help when people see water and say, i'm going to drive into that. >> yeah, shouldn't do that. >> we're going to continue to follow developments in texas. wanted to get to the other breaking news overnight. the north korean missile launch brings for a call for the united nations to get involved. >> yesterday, pyongyang fired a ballistic missile over japanese air space. it flew 1,700 miles before landing in the pacific ocean. the early morning launch led to panic in northern japan. prime minister abe is now calling for an emergency meeting of the u.n. security council. a terrible scene at a ne

gunman opens fire, killing two and injuring four others. a 16-year-old male is reportedly in custody. authorities say he surrendered immediately when confronted by the cops. many children were inside the library during that shooting. but they were not injured. no word on the condition of the victims or motive for the shooting. president trump has signed an executive order clearing the way for police departments to obtain military gear. like grenade launchers, high-caliber weapons and armored vehicles. the order revives a program curtailed by president obama, following a police response to protesters in ferguson, missouri. civil rights groups says the military equipment inflames tensions. but trump argues it will boost safety. amazon celebrated the first day of owning whole foods by slashing prices. sol of those discounts were as high as 43%. >> wow. >> it's a big change for the upscale grocery chain, sometimes called whole paycheck because of its high p

banana, salmon, avocados and almond butter are some of the groceries that are now cheaper. >> if you can cut it 40%, wasn't it really, really high? >> the question is, will the quality continue if the prices are getting lower. former u.s. open champion maria sharapova has made a stylish return from a doping ban. she came dressed in black for her first action on the court for 15 months. her russian and her dress sparkled. she knocks off the second seed, simona halep in three sets. it was her first win in flushing meadows since 2015. a bit of a comeback for many people. not only sharapova, but shania twain opened up the festivities. ♪ that don't impress me much >> nothing but up. when we come back -- are you okay there?

>> we'll have more on a grassroots group, answering texans' call for help. >> they are using boats and pickup trucks to bring trapped victims to safety. they're alled the cajun navy. if you've got a life, you gotta swiffer

well, as the flooding pounds america's fourth-largest city, the images are just heartbreaking. >> there are some bright spots of neighbors helping neighbors, as the massive rescue effort overwhelms first responders. we've seen victims brought to safety by boat, helicopter, dump trucks, even backhoes. everybody is using every resource they have. and ted oberg of our houston station, stopped to chat with one little girl who just made it to safety. >> what was it like? were you in that big truck? >> i was stuck in there.

>> how tight was it? show me. it's okay. >> we were falling. >> what was the ride like to get out of here? >> to stay there and hold on. >> how long had you been waiting for that truck to come by and get you? >> oh, like an hour. >> an hour. >> and it was raining the whole time. did you have some sort of shelter? were you in a house or anything when you were waiting? >> yeah. but in a gas station. >> a gas station. how many people were at the gas station, jamie? >> like millions. >> like millions. more than what's in your class? more than what's in the lunchroom at school or less? >> more. yeah, like more. >> lots of people. are you okay? >> yeah. >> are you cold? >> kind of. >> i'm cold. >> yeah. >> he's like, i'm cold. >> talk about being resilient. the kids seem so res

yeah, i'm cold. >> it's great that many don't know how devastation the situation is. >> got a lucky little girl right there. we'll be right back. ♪

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ce? ...oh jeremy. so let's be clear: clearasil works fast on teen acne, not so much on other teen things. heroes are beginning to emerge in texas, as thousands of people are being pulled to safety from floodwaters by professionals and volunteers. >> either way, many of them are calling them houston's heroes. tom llamas introduces us to some of them. >> reporter: just like the rain here, the devastating images and stories continue to pour in. a family on an air mattress. 10-year-old javon murphy running through chest-deep waters to check on a neighbor at his apartment complex. and rising from the floodwaters, the human spirit.

two young children carried to safety in the arms of a sheriff's deputy. amidst the chaos and destruction, images of kindness and strength. neighbor helping neighbor. lending a land and giving a hug. a reminder, there is something in all of us, a storm just can't break. >> on that note, one group that keeps coming up, is the grassroots group called the cajun navy. they came together after katrina in louisiana. they arrived in houston, with this miniarmada. high-clearance trucks, boats, canoes. they have done tons, made hundreds of rescues. and they're apparently using a walkie-talkie app to help locate rescuers and victims, as well. pretty cool. and snap maps are helping people locate them, as well. >> they moved in as if they knew what they were doing.

many of the rescues they have done, using airboats. all the guys just came in and went into neighborhoods and tried to pluck out folks. >> fortunate to have the experience they do. in this case, it's worked out they can put that towards good. >> want to give props to our station there in houston, ktrk. we have watched one of their reporters and now chauncey glover and many, many, many of their reporters who have dropped the microphone and helped out folks. this is chauncey glover who helped out a pregnant woman who was in labor in northeast houston. she was eventually transported to texas women's hospital. a lot of folks have been helping out, including members of the media. >> usually as a reporter, you try to become not part of the story. but chauncey was in the right place at the right time.

was in a van with her and kept telling her to take deep breaths. >> g

making news in america this morning, dramatic rescues overnight in texas. crews pulling thousands of people to safety using everything from dump trucks to front end loaders. as the situation gets more desperate, some have resorted to breaking into a school for food and shelter and several more inches of rain are expected this morning. harvey now setting its sights on new orleans on the 12th anniversary of hurricane katrina. the sandbagging starting overnight and the race to fix broken pumps around that city. also breaking right now an emergency meeting called after north korea launches a missile over japan sparking spannic on the ground. we're live in washington with the latest.