good morning, i'm lynda lopez. >> i'm kendis gibson with the top head line we're following on "world news now." rescuers are scrambling to save people from rising waters. floodwaters on the rise and rain is not letting up. a record 50 inches could fall before the storm is out. the thousands evacuated after the deadly storm are being housed in shelters and other emergency shelters. some have been relocated to central texas. but it's unclear if they'll be sent to other states. the bodies of all the sailors killed when the "uss john mccain" collided with a tanker near singapore have been recovered. investigators are trying to figure out what caused that accident. president trump heads to

texas tomorrow to visit the storm zone. he's expected to be is asked about his controversial pardon of joe arpaio as he holds a news conference with the prime minister of finland. from abc news, this is "world news now." >> we do say good morning to everybody. of course we're following the breaking news as you take a look at that radar. this is not an old image from friday, even though it kind of looks like it did when we were here on friday. that's the current satellite radar, and it is not a good picture. rescuers are working into the night to reach stranded residents of the texas gulf coast. >> there are at least 3,000 members in the region. and the coast guard says more than half of all the helicopters nationally are there too. >> forecasters expect the storm system to stay just off the coast most of today and tomorrow. >> abc's lana zak is in houston where the threat isn't so much the wind as the terrible

flooding. good morning,. >> reporter: there are threats of levees that are going to be topped within hours. dams that officials are concerned may break. that's why they're starting to do these releases that are going to flood neighborhoods with even more water. one after motheanother, we cont to get evacuation orders for neighborhoods and towns here in texas. rescues continue in the dark of night here in houston. >> we got you, don't worry. >> reporter: bisected by roads that are now rivers, america's fourth largest city is in crisis. >> we need help in fifth ward. we need people here to evacuate people. get people here now before they die! >> reporter: the 911 system overrun. 56,000 calls in just 15 hours. many people say they can't even get through. houston's mayor is asking for patience. >> this is pretty much like day

two, okay? there will be day three. and there will be day four. and there may be day five. >> reporter: first responders and good samaritans are working around the clock, desperately trying to keep up with all the cries for help. and those that are rescued are often left with nothing. >> memories that get taken away by something that you don't expect, but i mean, it's all just materialistic stuff. >> reporter: luis says she was stranded without a place to go. >> they said there would be buses. no buses ever came, so we were just sitting there in the rain. just waiting for somebody to take us. and then -- >> reporter: and peter came around. >> that's when peter came to rescue us. >> reporter: and peter, you're just a good samaritan? >> i've been cooped up in my home the last few days watching you guys, and i said, you know what? i'm able-bodied. i might as well ask somebody if there's something i can do so i

drove down here. >> he is a hero. >> refrigerators floating, couch floating. >> everything. >> it's done. >> i wasn't expecting it to be like that. >> it was very scary, yeah, it was very scary. >> reporter: and even now, at this hour, there are still people who are waiting for people to pick them up. thousands have been evacuated many there aevacuated. there are potentially more waiting for assistance. and when they're picked up, they're brought to high ground but not necessarily to shelter. >> so people taken off guard by all this. and they seemingly have no idea where to go, including right there at your hotel. you saw some pretty dramatic images of people just kind of showing up with no idea where to go. >> reporter: they were shell-shocked. the expression on their faces as they skcame in. many of them holding maybe a plastic bag that had all their

worldly possessions in it. many clutching pets drenched and soaking. so many people didn't have a change of clothes who didn't know where they would sleep tonight. and one of the things i have to tell you guys. i was so pro foundly moved by. many people like lynda there without shoes that they didn't have time, even, to gather up the most essential of things for themselves. and waiting for help. it was, it was a remarkable situation. and when they would come here to the hotel, looking for a room, soon, it became apparent that the hotel couldn't keep up with the folks that were coming here. and they were, they were starting to, even now we have some people sleeping in the lobby, because the hotel was nice enough just to allow people to stay even if they couldn't give them a room. >> we're hoping for the best for all of those folks. >> that's nice of them to do. >> abc's lana zak in houston live for us right now. thank you.

and a man is describing an incredible rescue that he took part in today. >> so mike was racing to a neighborhood with a canoe to help his family. on his way, he heard someone yelling for help from a freeway. that person was standing in what appeared to be chest-deep water. this is what he told ktrk, our reporter there, tid o'berg. >> i heard somebody screaming. another guy heched lped me. i asked what he's standing on, he said a truck. i said what kind of truck do you have? he said 18 wheeler. >> and all i could see was this part of him. >> wow. that's amazing. the man was standing on top of his 18 wheeler. most tractor-trailers are nearly 14 feet high. mike was able to pull the man to safety. and the man was fairly tall as he mentioned as well. >> those rapidly rising floodwaters took so many people by surprise. >> we spoke to a woman trapped in her houston home surrounded by the water.

she made a desperate plea for help as she prepared to make a move with her family to higher ground. >> reporter: so haley, describe the situation you are in right now. what do you see outside your home? >> at least six feet of water as far as you can see. >> reporter: you're going to evacuate from your house? >> in an inflatable pool, we're going to put our belongings, and we're going to walk waist and chest high in our back yard, three properties over to a shed that looks as if it's above ground a little more than we are. >> reporter: what do you want to tell emergency management officials across the country right now? >> we need help in fifth ward. we need people here to evacuate people. everyone has waters in their homes now. the water is high enough in the street that you cannot pass it on foot. get people here now before they die. >> what a desperate cry that is. it's very reminiscent, at least that sort of desperate cry of

what we heard during hurricane katrina. >> we should check the latest often the forecast and what we can expect. accuweather's paul williams is with us now. >> good morning kendis and lynda. this storm is still barely on the threshold of being a tropical storm, but it's still deadly, 28.7 north, 96.4 west. winds sustained at about 40 miles per hour. the eye slightly off the coast, expected to strengthen just a little bit, staying cohesive enough as it tracks toward the north. now the eye is disorganized. it's fallen apart, so it's not expected to be upgraded to a hurricane. that's the good news. but the bands of heavy rain and downpours still causing multiple concerns for tornado warnings that have been issued throughout the area. take a look at this water. we're expecting an additional 16-32 inches of rain. back to you. >> absolutely incredible there,

paul. >> and paul, tell us what, in the days to come, the next day or so, next 48, 72 hours, what are some of the worst-hit areas? >> unfortunately, we already have a very rain-soaked ground. it was already wet there in the first place. take a look at this tracking. it's going to track throughout eastern portions of texas but take all week long. we have right now the video that you've been showing previously, not just flash flood warnings but we have what's called flash flood emergencies, which is more dire. i expect more flash flood emergencies as we deal with catastrophic, catastrophic flooding concerns in and around houston and even going further inland, we're looking for extreme problems there, and you just mentioned katrina. remember, over towards new orleans, we are expecting some flooding to possibly occur there from this exact same storm. >> wow. that's not the sort of things that folks in new orleans would like to hear at all.

they only have four of 14 pumps that are operational right now. paul williams, thank you. president trump is expected to face tough questions about his controversial decision to pardon former arizona sheriff, joe arpaio, when he holds a news conference at the white house today. >> he's also facing criticism for firing off several tweets about a wide range of other issues as harvey slammed texas. here's abc's mary bruce. >> reporter: president trump returning from camp david with a wave. >> what's your message to the people of texas? >> reporter: he's been monitoring the storm response via videoconference. harvey is a major test for the president. and from the flood zone, warm words from the texas governor. >> we could not be more appreciative of what the federal government has done, from the president on down. >> reporter: on twitter, the president is touting the great coordination, saying we have an all-out effort going and going well. but he's also tweeting about everything from a book by a controversial political ally to the border wall, nafta and his upcoming visit to missouri, a

state he quote, won by a lot. and he's taking heat for his controversial decision to pardon former arizona sheriff joe arpaio and his response to charlottesville. the secretary of state pressed about his values. >> and the president's values? >> the president speaks for himself. >> reporter: strong words there from the secretary of state. now the president tweeted he wants to visit texas as soon as it's possible without causing a major disruption. and the wrohite house says the president will be there on tuesday. mary bruce, abc news, washington. harvey has stranded at least 500 people at houston's airport. more on the travel nightmare. also the plans to rescue more victims from the floodwaters this morning. we'll talk to one of the people

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and here's another amazing rescue in houston, caught on camera. a person holding onto their car, trying to keep from being swept away. >> so two men in a boat move in and drag the person into their boat and to safety. that rescue captured live there

overnight. >> you can see those waters rising so quickly. >> absolutely. he still had his wipers on at one point. they pulled him out of that vehicle. he got to safety. >> got him out to safety. >> so with the floodwaters rising we spoke with francisco sanchez. he's with homeland and security management. >> no community can handle 10 to 15 inches of rain over a four or five day period. we have the isolated totals forecast of up to 30 inches. what we've been focussed on is making sure ha we got in the room fire, law enforcement, transportation, weather, and federal, state and local partners that will help us to address those areas as they happen to try to keep people safe and get them out of harm's way. i think when we saw, when we asked for help from the community, it was overwhelming. we had federal and state resources that could not get in because of the floodwaters, and

we saw literally hundreds of people with their boats and high-water vehicles that worked with our fire and law enforcement partners that were dispatched like we would dispatch any fire or law enforcement resource and working hand in hand with our first response partners to get people out of communities that had flooded. the u.s. army corps of engineers has decided to release waters from dams in the houston arias, particularly, addox and barker. the bayou levels will rise, and we have the potential in the likelihood that more homes will flood. so we have asked the army corps of engineers that when they release that water that they work with us and give us the kind of notice we need to alert the public and make sure we can get people out of harm's way. >> we are not requesting going quick end to these flooding issues. >> not at all. and usually they wait until the end of an event to unleash those dams, in the case of a flooding,

but now they're having to do it in the midst of it. >> feeling they can't wait. coming up, how neighbors are helping neighboring in the areas of houston hit the hardest. hundreds of people stranded at one airport, you're watching "world news now." but lysol power toilet bowl cleaner has 10x more cleaning power against limescale. so switch to lysol. what it takes to protect.

and this picture that you're looking at is not a picture of a lake in texas. this is actually one of the runways at hobby airport in hugh hugh -- houston today. and it wasn't much better at houston's other airport. >> of about 500 passengers were stranded at houston's airports sunday. more than 1400 flights were canceled. the larger of the two, bush

intercontinental won't reopen until at least today. hobby, which you saw the images earlier which is used by southwest airlines and others may be open on wednesday. they are using special flights to evacuate people from houston to dallas. a plane was relocated to chicago. they couldn't leave the airport. so they could fly them out. >> roads looking similar to runways that we were seeing. and more than 1,000 people have sought shelter in the houston convention center. >> for some of them, this is not a new experience because some of them fled their homes in new orleans. our houston station, ktrk showed us the situation at the convention center late last night. >> when i woke up and seen how bad it was, i seen daylight. i was like, we got to get up out of here. we stood on top of some cars until they seen us and a rescue truck came.

ifgs everything is under water, the house, the car. and we're here with the kids. >> reporter: oh, my goodness. they've had a long night. >> everybody had a long night. we were scared to stay asleep. we made sure the kids stayed in the bed and didn't fall in the walter. >> this is my front yard this morning. here it is again. that's the neighbor's. you can't see the road. that's the front porch. >> reporter: you can definitely see that. >> didn't make it up to the front porch but i was getting scared. >> there's really nothing else you can do but thank god we made it through. that's all you can do. >> and so amazing to think that people who went through had experience in new orleans with katrina, experiencing something similar again. >> so many of them said they would never go back to new orleans in fear of another hurricane. and there they have it right there. >> trying to get little babies to sleep on the floor of the

vin convention center. coming up, one of the many heroes in houston. because your carpet never stops working

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herbal essences. let life in. we of course are hearing so many stories of houston heroes. people who dropped everything to help others in need. >> a reporter was riding in a rescue boat when he became part of the story. >> we got you. don't worry. we got you. we got you. don't worry. it is a little cold, but we got you. don't worry. come on up. come on up. we're going to set you right up. let me put this microphone down, okay? >> okay. >> and they're going to help her get onto that boat which is in and of itself not an easy thing in those currents that they're dealing with. and we can see the rain is falling out there. >> are you okay? you guys can talk, i'm going to

put the microphone down and help this guy. we're going to take him off. this shows you how critical these patients are, how critical these people are. they need help. there's not enough boats, not enough helicopters, not enough, not enough first responders, obviously, to get every single person. as you heard, there's 300 people in this apartment complex, a lot of them, a lot of them need the help. here, because they are, they're elderly. some of them, obviously have medical conditions that they need to, they need to be on dry land. >> he even gave up one of his rain coats as well as his ktrk umbrella to some of those folks. >> sometimes you can't help but help. >> if i were stuck in a flood, i want to show you an image that would be me. that would basically be me. >> you're in the duck floaty? >> uh-huh, and have a beer.

>> drinking a beer. this was a guy stuck in the floods in this image we saw over the weekend. >> love that his duck has shades. >> rubber ducky. a lot of people were taking the floaties to try to get around, and different sort of floaties. >> girl who was on this toucan float actually posted her image to instagram, and she said when there's a hurricane but all you care about is the fact that school is canceled, #hurricane harvey. >> she was well inland from where the storm came in. >> and there was another great story of a man with his daughter in their house. and a fish had got noon theten r home. much to his daughter's delight, he dove to catch the ferb. he was diving around and entertained his daughter for quite a bit of time. >> if they're there for a while, they already have dinner. that's the new

brakieaking news this morni on "world news now." harvey's effects get worse. >> get people here now before they die! >> the situation turning desperate overnight ago victims of the historic flooding wait to be rescued. the coast guard plucking people from above. people taken to their roofs. >> the remnants now drowning one of the nation's largest cities. and could some have been spared with more warning? we do say good morning to everybody. we thank you for joining us. we're going to start with the breaking news and what's proving to be a terrible early morning for people in houston and much of south texas. >> the remnants of hurricane harvey are still battering texas, expected to stick around

for days. some areas could see 50 inches of rain. at least three deaths are blamed on the storm. mandatory evacuation orders have been issued for hundreds of homes in rosenberg. and the evacuation order has been extended to 54 counties. >> thousands of people have been rescued. families fami families and even pets rescued from rooftops. the national guard has been activated. fema is sending in more than 1800 staffers, and president trump is heading to texas even as the rain continues to fall tomorrow. abc's lana zak is in the thick of it all. and good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning to you kendis and lynda. that's right. more than 600 billion gallons of water have withbeen dumped here houston.

there are increasing calls for help. rescues continue in the dark of night here in houston. >> don't worry, we got you. >> reporter: bisected by roads that are now rivers, america's fourth largest city is in crisis. >> we need help in fifth ward! we need people here to evacuate people! get people here now before they die! >> reporter: the 911 system overrun. 56,000 calls in just 15 hours. many people say they can't even get through. houston's mayor is asking for patience. >> this is pretty much like day two, okay. there will be day three. and there will be day four. and there may be day five. >> reporter: first responders and good samaritans are working round the clock, desperately trying to keep up with all the calls for help. and those rescues are often left with nothing. >> memories that get taken away by something that you don't expect, but i mean, it's all just materialistic stuff.

>> reporter: louise has no dry clothes or shoes on her feet. she was grateful to be plucked from the waters, but she was left stranded without a place to go. >> they said there would be buses. no buses ever came. so we were sitting there in the rain, just waiting for somebody to take us. and then -- >> reporter: and then peter came around. >> that's when peter came to rescue us. >> reporter: and peter, you're just a good samaritan? >> i've been cooped up in my home the past two days, watching you guys, and i said you know what? i'm able-bodied. i might as well ask someone if there's something i can do. so i drove down there. >> he is our hero. >> reporter: a definite hero there. and so many high roweroes. they deserve all our praise and gratitude. but the situation here continues to deteriorate. we have learned that there are possible levee breaches that are go being to occur in the next several hours. people frantically trying to find some dry space. and now officials are saying

that they are planning on releasing, they are planning on releasing water from two reservoirs that will have a major impact on hundreds of homes, and potentially thousands of people. lynda, kendis? >> the big issue seems to be that residents there were caught off guard, because initially they heard they didn't have to evacuate, but there's history behind that decision, right? >> reporter: you're exactly right, lynda. in part of the frustration is the confusion that the governor told people that he would evacuate if he was living in houston, that he would leave. but that was quickly, that was quickly retorted by the mayor who said that people shouldn't leave. so folks here were really getting two different messages, and the mayor went very hard in saying that people should stay put. that really goes back to 2005 with hurricane rita. they were trying to avoid that situation where in hours before rita was supposed to hit that i think it was 2.5 million people were out on the road all at once, and these highways became

congested. 60 people died as a result of those evacuation orders. that was what they were trying to avoid. but is it all too little too late. that's what people are asking now. >> that, indeed, and you can hear the rain coming down and even thunder right there in the background. >> reporter: and tornado warnings as well. >> it's going to be a long week ride out there. lana zak joining us from houston. and we'll have another live report from lana a little late other on. houston hospitals are facing several challenges that may be making things tough to stay open. two critical issues. getting staff to and from work and getting splice. >> two have decided to evacuate patients. bayshore is moving patients. it's also suspending services, including the 24 hour medical emergency service center.

and bens hob canceled treatments. so many people trapped in their homes, including this paraplegic girl. we spoke on the phone with wendy waterman. she and nearly two dozen of her neighbors are in her house waiting for water to recede. >> it's like a movie. we were outside, would see one helicopter fly by in one direction, another fly by in another direction. we heard boats. but when we were outside, you would go in the front yard, in the back yard, and you would see one or the other, a helicopter lowering someone down to save them. this was going on for a good couple hours. >> are you planning to leave the home or that area? are you waiting for people to come and rescue you? >> no, we're planning to stay until the water recedes. we don't have power. we do have plumbing right now. but we feel lucky, fortunate that we're dry.

and we have enough food, enough water. and hopefully, within the next 24, 48, 36 hours, the water will recede and people will be able to go to other places. >> do you feel as if you're in danger at all? >> yes. >> very, very much so. i mean, we have one of the houses that are higher up. and it's one thing to feel for your community, which is something obviously they feel very much inside, but it's another thing and just another level to be scared for yourself and your own well-being. >> the elderly folks who are here in the home, that's what makes me, like my grandmother is here, and she's 93 years old, and she does have medication here, but, you know, at some point, we may need to call to, you know, get, get more help. >> and then like the 96-year-old, we have to get her across the street. they have to lift her in a chair across water. >> yeah, we don't have access now. there's 19 people here. and to get all of us out

>> by canoe or kayak or raft. >> it would be dramatic. >> we don't have a place to go. >> and i think the situation with that particular group right there, i don't think they have any idea of how long this road is going to be. so they're saying that, you know, we're good here just for another couple of days or three days. once the water goes down. the water will stop coming from the skies in two to three days. then it will take a long time for it to start going down. but they're trapped in an island right now in the home. >> and that's concerning to so many, that this catastrophe isn't over yet in southern texas. the worst may be yet to come. >> far from it. yep, that too. accuweather's paul williams is joining us with the details on the track. good morning. >> good morning, and we have concerns. i'm not trying to be an alarmist. but something has just happened in the last few moments. first of all, let me show you what's happening. we have tropical storm harvey

that may be downgraded to a depression, but don't let that make you think you're out of the woods. it may strengthen just a little more before it moves to the north. we're looking at 40-mile-per-hour winds, but from the outlying tentacles of this thing, we've had over 150 and still counting tornado warnings alone. we're not even talking about the devastation of the flooding. but look at the track. we're expecting this track throughout eastern portions of texas, and i want to make this very simple for understanding's sake. eastern part of the state right into the southern portions of arkansas. but i want you to note, this is going until friday. it's going to take it a week to travel through eastern texas. what we don't need. and one final note, now we're starting to get more reports as far as what's happening with the power outages. there's another part of this. remember previous weeks, we've had a tremendous a rain hit in this same area over and over again. now we're looking for locally over 40, perhaps 50 inches of

rain, but we've already had a water log land mass. >> our thanks to paul williams there. more than 40 inches of rain. by the time this is over. just impressive numbers all around. >> all around. well, coming up, it's the image that's defined this disaster so far. that nursing home packed with seniors as the water mercilessly continued to rise. and a producer brought viewers inside his flooded home. his family was forced to move to a hire floor as they waited to be rescued. you're watching "world news now."

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>> saying it came and got them pretty quick and it was very scary. that was just one of the harrowing stories from an evacuee who's now at houston's convention center. and one of the strongest images in hurricane harvey shows some of the storm's most vulnerable victims. >> they were nursing home residents in dickerson, texas, some of them up to their chests in rising floodwaters. eva pilgrim looks at the desperate wait. >> reporter: the picture heartbreaking. senior citizens, some in wheelchairs trapped just outside houston. one woman seems to be calmly knitting in her recliner as the waltz water rises. another woman sent that picture to her son-in-law. >> she said things are really bad. we need help right now. we can't wait. >> reporter: a few hours later, the seniors were rescued by helicopter. an official saying we were

airlifting grandmothers and grandfathers. here evacuations still under way. an elderly woman with a walker helped into a truck. a mother clutching her baby in a canoe. they were among the many who did not evacuate. in houston, the mayor facing criticism for telling residents friday to stay put. >> there's no need at this point for people to be thinking about leaving, getting on the road and putting themselves in greater danger. >> reporter: from the governor, the opposite advice. >> if you have the ability to evacuate and go somewhere else for a little while, it would be good. >> reporter: the governor refusing to criticize the mayor, saying we've moved whether or not there should have been an evacuation or not. can you see the waters behind me. the people we spoke to say this is an area that typically floods. once they realized it was bad, they said it was too high to leave. ach abc news, dickerson, texas.

>> and so hard for the officials to learn from the past. do they tell people to stay or get on the road. >> last time we were talking about the storm on friday, that we thought maybe they were making the bad decision by not evacuating. >> they should be telling everyone to get out. >> corpus christi got off relatively okay. houston thought, okay. >> we're better. >> exactly. they did the same thing. it's a tough decision for these politicians. coming up, inside the flood. we go inside one man's house as the waters were rising around his family. that's next on "world news now." . ...oh, burnt-on gravy? ...gotta rinse that. nope. no way. nada. really? dish issues? throw it all in. new cascade platinum powers through... even burnt-on gravy. nice. cascade.

texas governor greg abbott is sending another 1,000 national guards men to houston today. they've already activated 3,000 troops for the emergency. >> and the u.s. coast guard has at least half of its helicopters in the country, in the region now, it has rescued more people from cars, roofs, bridges. and i want to point to a fascinating video that just came in hours ago. that suv got overwhelmed by the flooding. the wipers still being on there. this is houston surveillance camera, capturing that rescue right there. quite a dramatic scene. >> and houston police asking

anyone with boats to help. >> they have received 56,000 calls in a 15-hour period. >> words like epic, unprecedented and historic are being used to describe what the reality is. >> and while this storm may not be as deadly as hurricane katrina, it is shaping up tos historical with just as many heartbreaking images seared into people's memories. already drawing comparisons to hurricane katrina, that's the first thing that comes to mind. katrina was the costliest national disaster at $108 billion. >> then there was superstorm sandy, the second costliest at $75 billion. a lot of sandy damage, though, is still being repaired to this day as we know very well in the new york area. and that's nearly five years later. >> joe gleason is a photographer with ktrk and went live from his

house as the waters rose, like any good newsman would do. >> he went for this live shot. i'm sure he didn't want to be there for that live shot. his whole family was eventually rescued. >> we actually started moving things upstairs about 5:00. and then probably about 5:15, the water started coming through, and so at that point, we kind of just said, okay, let's just get, you know, the most important things. pets. kids. and go on back upstairs. >> here's before picture. this is what it looks like normally. and then you see it today or so. never before have we seen it this high. >> so many of you have been watching throughout the last, i don't know, 12, 15 hours and heard the story about abc 13 sports producer joe gleason and his family. we showed you inside his house at san filippi.

we are so happy to report that he and his family are safe tonight. they are at his in-laws' house. joe's house like so many of our community are flooded. joe, like many people were overwhelmed by the help they received. >> water started rising over my neighbor's railing, and i said if it starts rising over the railing we got to move. and i started hearing boats on buffalo bayou. i was yelling and whistling at them, trying to get their attention. they didn't come our way, and i was starting to panic a little bit, after that little live pop i did, they rallied a boat over there, and within an hour i was in a boat and we are here. people i don't even now offered to come over and get us. and offered clothes for the kids. and offered a place to stay. and i've got a garage apartment, and houston is yucunbelievable.

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as southeastern texas gets pummeled with unprecedent the flooding caused by hurricane harvey, we are seeing incredible images of neighbors helping neighbors. >> you can see on the radar, there's still a lot of rain yet to come for southeastern texas. so a lot of people who are not in that particular area are probably wondering this morning, what can you do to help? salvation army emergency disaster services is one option. you can call them at 1-800-725-2769. or the website you see there, helpsalvationarmy.org. >> you can reach out to the red cross by calling 1-800-red-cross. you can text harvey to 90999. and volunteers have been

mobilized to that region and bringing supplies with them. and there's operation barbecue. yep, operation barbecue is heading to texas. >> of course. >> you need it. it brings hot meals to those in need. they've picked up about 900 pounds of pork, and they're on their way. i have to say, 900 pounds, they're going to need a lot more pork, but at least it's a start. >> it is definitely a start. >> so a little league team from southeast texas took the region's collective mind off harvey for the weekend. >> the kids from lucky took on japan in the little league world series title game. the next batter, well, another home run. >> yes! >> they took a 2-0 lead. >> all right. but then japan came back. >> oh. >> so they broke loose for a combined, oh, nine runs in the fourth. >> wow. >> and the fifth innings. and there you see it. japan won 12-2.

giving another hit to southeast texas. but those kids did great. and they should be very proud. and how proud, you know, just knowing that -- >> they were out there fighting for their victories. >> exactly, and while all of texas was looking to the storm, we had that. so a lot of celebrities, of course, are reacting to the situation in texas. >> yeah, and a lot of them want to help in amazing ways. that's the most heartwarming part. >> james harden, a point guard for the houston rockets tweeting please send your love and prayers to people in texas. >> and j.j. watt posted a video to raise money and set an anybody goal of $200,000. and i already raised that in less than two hours, now he's going for $500,000. >> kelly roland from destiny's child saying prayers for houston. >> and cher sending love and prayers to all texans.

>> all

breaking news, flooding catastrophe in texas. >> the emergency after hurricane harvey, deepening overnight. >> these kids need help. i mean, they're soaked to the bone. >> they're completely soaked. i mean, i -- >> the relentless rain still pounding the houston area. water submerging whole neighborhoods and boats navigating freeways to make rescues. >> there's people on roofs and stuff, we're going to try to get them out of there. >> people in the nation's fourth largest city pleading for help. >> we need help in fifth ward. get people here now before they die. >> the millions dealing with epic flooding and the race to save them right now on this special edition of "world news now". from abc news, this is

"world news now." >> we do say good morning. you see the radar, the satellite image over there, you can tell it's not over yet. so all those incredible images that we saw there will just continue. >> for the next several days. >> for the next several days. that is the breaking news we are continuing to watch. the drenching rain hammering south texas and not letting up soon. >> more than 48 hours after blowing ashore, harvey is still triggering widespread flooding. after houston was already swamped with two feet of rain. and another two feet of rain may be on the way over the next few days. the coast guard has been working round the clock, rescuing hundreds of people have been rescued by water and air. many on rooftops and submerged cars. >> as officials ask people with boats to help out. this man spotted gliding through the streets of houston in an air boat. tom llamas is also there. he joins us with more on the rescues. >> reporter: the rains have not stopped.

and that's the real danger right now. this is one of the neighborhoods completely flooded out. we spent part of the night with the jackson brothers who have been going out rescuing fellow neighbors. because search and rescue teams and first responders are stretched thin because there are so many 911 calls and so many people trapped. >> all the water. we, i mean, it happened so fast. you don't expect it to happen so fast. >> reporter: the jackson bros. went right up to the house. they had to run up to the second floor, because the water came rushing in. there happened to be two families in that house with multiple pets. they were crowded onto this boat. these are the houston heroes, as this rain doesn't stop. and harvey doesn't leave this area. kendis and lynda, back to you. >> our thanks to tom llamas in houston. and that really is the story right now. people are doing whatever they can to get to safety. >> houston heroes will be

trending. by the time is the week is over with. neighbors like this couple in their 90s. in houston. the red cross now has eight shelters open in the greater houston area. >> we spoke with one family at the houston convention center. >> reporter: what area was it? >> >>. [ inaudible ] >> reporter: tell me real quick, the water up how high in the house? >> about chest high on me. >> refrigerator's floating, house floating. >> everything. >> it's done. >> i mean, i experienced 2002. but it wasn't this bad. it was very scary. very scary. >> definitely a frightening scene there. and harvey will likely cause gas prices to rise throughout the gulf coast. key refineries and oil production facilities have been forced to close. dozens of oil rigs and several refineries have been shut down. on sunday, two of the nation's

biggest, both located in texas, shell's deer park and exxonmobil's bay ton closed. >> they produce about 1 million barrels a day. gas prices could jump any where from 5 cents to 25 cents a gallon. and you can expect air travel delays. bush airport is closed until at least noon today. the smaller houston hobby airport won't reopen until wednesday at the earliest. more than 1400 flights to and from houston airports were canceled yesterday. many other cancellations in the u.s. were caused by disruptions in south texas. rail and bus transportation are also suspended. and many of the interstates in the regions are closed. the coast guard says 50% or more of its operational helicopters are helping. >> which is an amazing number. we spoke to vice admiral carl schultz. >> this is going to be an increasingly complex situation.

in the coming days. to put it on a playing field and say where we are marching down the field at what quarter of the game, we haven't figured out exactly what this is going to look like at the end of the day. what i assure you, we're in here supporting the state of texas and fema for the duration. but this is a very complicated event that hasn't sort of reached its full zenith or peak yet. >> obviously, there are many people in their homes who are trying to figure out what do we do as the water continues to rise. what do you tell them to do? >> caller: well, first and foremost, take the threat very seriously. people that get in their cars, taken into high water situations is dangerous. stay in your homes, get to high ground in your homes. if the waters are such where you're starting to feel for personal safety, you should try to get ahold of 911. if you have to because of the water's height, get on the roof.

wave some type of towel. get some type of marking on your roof, that is the best way for us to find you. if you are making contact, if you have cell service or what helps us is having a street address, a zip code, that helps pilots navigate to your location. this is a large scale, we have our arms around the full extent of it. i think katrina, the rupturing of the levees and immense flooding at a fairly quick pace. what we had here, we saw, and you asked me earlier about our preparations. we prepositioned assets to get in here. i would say we were in here with a robust package of capabilities today to support the state and actually before today and we are in the fight rescuing folks. >> we are in the fight. right there, that indeed for the coast guard. harvey of course is no longer a hurricane but is still a life-threatening, flooding event as it crosses southeastern texas.

>> let's get the latest forecast and go to paul williams. good morning, paul. >> good morning to you, lynda, kendis. what we have now, still a tropical storm. the latest information, barometric pressure has dropped to 999 millibars. winds sustained at 40 miles per hour. it is moving east-southeast at 3 miles per hour. we are looking at the eye of the storm possibly reemerging over the water and re-strengthening once again. you see the red. that's where we're getting a lot of the tornado warnings and we've had over 150 and counting from just the outlying aspect of the system. we're talking about devastating and catastrophic impact, with flooding, with over 50 inches of rain in some areas. >> paul, can you tell us, when we look at these images, we think about hurricane katrina, superstorm sandy in our area, in new york.

in your weather memory, how is the storm ranking compared to those storms? >> well, i actually worked katrina when i was in mississippi at the time. and it's not quite to that girth or strength, but it is still a problem because of this. this storm is going to take until friday to even clear out. so it's a slow mover. that's problem number one. problem number two, you might not remember, but last week and the previous week, we had heavy showers in the first place. that's going to make that even worse as far as dealing with power outages. >> and it's quite an interesting track, paul, because it was a 36-hour period from where it went from being nothing to a tropical depression to hurricane four. how unusual. >> it's not so unusual because when you take a look at this from a meteorological standpoint, over the warm water of the gulf, that's not so

unusual. you're not likely to get a category four or five in the pacific, off the california coast, but you can imagine this happening in the gulf because the gulf has a lot of energy. in place to create this opportunity. not only that, we're dump being the tremendous amount of rain, 40-plus, maybe 50 inches. although that is tremendous and earth-shattering in itself. that is not a record. the record a rainfall in one day is 43 set in 1979. >> wow, that is impressive. as we watch texas, there's a disturbance that we are paying attention to. we appreciate your work. >> we'll be focussing on it in a few days. and we'll have more breaking news coverage in the show, but when we come back, a look at some other headlines. >> including president trump's pardon of joe arpaio. reaction to the controversial decision ahead. also violent clashes in berkley, california, as counter

protesters and right wing demonstrations are slammed with shields. stay with us. you're watching "world news now." "world news now" weather brought to you by flonase. "world news now." world enoughs now weath"wor brought to you by flonase. non-drowsy allergy pill. flona1 when we breathe in allergens, our bodies react by overproducing 6 key inflammatory substances that cause our symptoms. flonase helps block 6. most allergy pills only block one and 6 is greater than 1. with more complete relief you can enjoy every beautiful moment to the fullest. flonase. 6 is greater than 1 changes everything.

at least three people are dead as a result of hurricane harvey. it is now a tropical storm, but its torrential rain, strong winds and catastrophic flooding will continue in southeastern texas this week. overnight, officials are releasing water from two reservoirs upstream houston to prevent those dams from collapsing, and they are worried that this itself might flood some homes. president trump plans to visit tomorrow. >> so many dramatic rescues there, including that one that played out on live tv. and the president did monitor the situation over the weekend at camp david and posted several tweets. >> his final tweet of the night, historic rainfall in houston and all over texas. floods are unprecedented and more rain coming. spirit of the people is incredible. thanks. as the president returned to washington with the first lady

and son barron, he'll be traveling to texas tomorrow to visit the storm zone. in the meantime, the president is under fire for pardoning former arizona sheriff joe arpaio, friday night just at category four storm bore down texas. >> and the pardon came before arpaio was sentenced for violating the civil rights of latinos in a racial profiling case and continuing his immigration patrols after a judge ordered him to stop. former vice president joke wrote, the president's contempt for the u.s. constitution and his willingness to divide this nation knows no bounds. homeland security adviser defended the president's decision. >> i think it's straightforward what the president did. this is not something that's going to threaten the constitutional order. >> this is somebody who's constantly talked about healing, healing, healing, but almost every single one of his actions as president has been the exact opposite. >> and rex tillerson was hesitant to defend the president's values. this was interesting. he would only say the president speaks for himself. not the american people.

>> well, the navy has found the remains of all the missing sailors killed after the "uss john mccain" collided with an oil tanker near singapore seven days ago. the bodies were all recovered caused the most recent accident. it's the fourth major accident for the u.s. pacific fleet this year. a tense and ugly scene in berkley, california as masked anarchists clashed with right wing demonstrators. at least 14 people were arrested at the protest. witnesses say the protests were largely peaceful until the anarchists attacked a group from a no-to-marxism-in berkley rally. now thousands of protesters had also gathered for a rally against haight to oppose the right-wing protesters. the hooded protesters allegedly kicked, beat and pepper sprayed the anti-marxism protesters. you get that? there was a lot of ugliness.

that took place in berkley. at a time when a lot of confederate monuments are coming down, alabama unveiled a new one. a few hundred people honored the dedication of a marker to unknown soldiers in montgomery. it's on a park. the group that organized the event says it's just a coincidence that the unveiling was announced after the events in charlottesville. and when we come back, more coverage of the devastating storm in texas. >> we'll be right back. vastating storm in texas. >> we'll be right back. oose! from crest 3d white comes new whitening therapy. it's our best whitening technology. plus, it has a fortifying formula to protect your enamel. crest. healthy, beautiful smiles for life.

the evacuation orders for residents of houston's southwest suburbs along the brazos river have just been upgraded from voluntary to mandatory. it's expected to rise to 59 feet, what is called an 800-year flood level. the river is expected to hit its

peak this afternoon. and the storm is staying over texas for the next several days, continuing to pound it with heavy winds and torrential rain. >> more aid is being sent in, but there seems to be no end to this disaster. >> lana zak joins us. good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you, kendis and lynda. this tropical storm harvey has not left. he came into town, and he continues, not even to dissipate to the point where he's no longer a tropical storm. he's moving at about 2 miles per hour. that's really just sitting here and continuing this deluge of flooding that we've seen, 50 inches is expected here in houston alone. two major area hospitals have ordered evacuations. one found that they were unable to successfully evacuate the folks at their hospital. in part because the waterways all around them are completely blocked off.

the hospital having to confess that they were an island and unable to safely move their patients out. they say they do have supplies for now, but that's not going to last very long. and that's something that we've heard from so many people, they were prepared for the flood but not how severe this has been. and the lack of resources. thousands waiting for somebody to come rescue them. kendis, lynda. >> so many people in that same situation in houston. fascinating to see scenes of that river overflowing its bank. thank you. and the texas town of rockport was ravaged by 100-mile-per-hour winds. officials issued a mandatory evacuation, but nearly half of the residents stayed behind. among those who stayed was danielle weeks, she is pregnant and scheduled for a c-section on tuesday. >> they were unable to see their home.

so they asked matt gutman to take video. >> the bottom side that we can't see is torn up or -- >> that's baby blanket i was making for her. >> that was in our bedroom, which is on that end of the trailer, so. >> she was scheduled for a c section this tuesday. devastating. residents of the town are stunned and devastated by the damage. officials say it's likely in the hundreds of millions of dollars. the electricity has been out in rockport since the storm began and the local cell phone tower is not working. and at least one texas mom will remember this storm every time she says her son's name. >> so little harvey rodriguez was born friday in corpus christi. his mom hadn't selected a name for him when she went into labor. so the nurse made a suggestion.

>> they are said to be doing well. >> happy memories from harvey, indeed. we'll be back. indied. we'll be back. ed. we'll be back. ed. we'll be back.

(male #1) it's a little something i've done every night since i was a kid, empty my pocket change into this old jar. it's never much, just what's left after i break a dollar. and i never thought i could get quality life insurance with my spare change. neither did i. until i saw a commercial for the colonial penn program. imagine people our age getting life insurance at such an affordable rate.

it's true. if you're 50 to 85, you can get guaranteed acceptance life insurance through the colonial penn program for less than 35 cents a day, just $9.95 a month. there's no medical exam and no health questions. you know, the average cost of a funeral is over $8,300. now that's a big burden to leave your loved ones. as long as you're 50 to 85, you cannot be turned down because of your health. your premium never goes up and your benefit never goes down due to age. plus, your coverage builds cash value over time. call now for free information and a free gift. all i did was make a phone call and all of my questions about the colonial penn program were answered. it couldn't have been any easier and we both got the coverage we should have had for years now. mm-hm, with change to spare. (laughing) (colonial penn jingle)

all right, we're back, and there were other things that took place overnight. a busy night in the pop world, g.o.t., "game of thrones" had its finale, and the vma awards, kicked off with katy perry, with an interesting video featuring buzz aldrin, among others. >> and the evening was full of powerful performances, too. and even more powerful speeches. and one of the more talked-about subjects, hurricane harvey. >> all of us here at the vmas are sending love to the people of southeastern texas and everyone affected by hurricane harvey right now. we're praying for your safety in the days to come. and we stand with you as you rebuild, because we're all in this together.

>> well, for the fans, perhaps the most anticipated moment of the night was the premiere of taylor swift's "look what you made me do" video, which was interesting too. she played different versions of herself, including a zombie, t. swift. >> it already has over 8.7 million views on youtube. it's a darker version of taylor than we're used to. she's reinvented herself before from country, of course, but the controversy about this is a lot of people are saying the video is basically a sad ripoff of beyonce's formation video. >> right. and the director came out and denied that. >> one of the tweets that people have been saying, including, with the caption of it saying, "my daddy pennsylvania, my mama pennsylvania." >> taylor swift. >> kind of a ripoff of formation there. so the most talked-about performance was probably from pink, she got the night started with a career-spanning medley.

ahead of accepting the vanguard award. >> the 37-year-old singer's six-song mashup brought the house down. but broke it down literally with some break dancing? >> yeah. i mean, it's pink. >> let's see. let's check her out. ♪ she got crazy. old school on us. >> she did her entire set. it was impressive. and the cutest part was seeing her daughter -- well, that's interesting. the daughter was there along with her husband. while she accepted the award. and, as we mentioned, a lot of people from the celebrity world still talking about harvey. >> and how you can help. kevin hart actually really wants to help. he's putting up a link and calls out specific celebrities, jay z, jerry seinfeld, chris rock, everyone to help. >> he just posted that a few moments ago. ♪

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breaking news, flooding ka castro if i in texas. >> the emergency after hurricane harvey deepens overnight. >> scary when water is rushing that fast. a runway at a houston airport underwater making rescues. >> you hate to see people lose everything they have and, you know, all we can do is try to help them get to dry land. >> people in the country's fourth largest city pleading for help. >> we need help in the fifth ward. get people here now before they die. >> millions dealing with epic flooding and the race to save them right now. and the storm's latest path. we're tracking it all right now.