one. and 6 is greater than one. flonase sensimist. ♪ >> good afternoon rick and sarah are off i'm matt o'donnell. in the news new picture of suspected tire slasher who targeted police and fire vehicles in south jersey. plus, more traffic headaches are coming to the benjamin franklin parkway, road closures are in effect for the made in america festival. the big story on "action news," the devastation in texas. the remnants of hurricane harvey battered city of houston with catastrophic flooding. hundreds have been rescued from neighborhoods that are under water. hundreds more stranded andy waiting to be saved.

abc's maggie ruly live in houston with more on this. >> reporter: we're getting more rain and wind in houston with more bands of heavy rain expected adding to a catastrophic situation. the country's fourth largest city remains under water. with more heavy rain expected, the city could be soaked with up to 50 inches. >> this is a landmark event. we have not seen an event like this, you could not draw this forecast up, you could not dream this forecast you mean. >> reporter: and today a new problem, officials say city dams built to protect downtown houston against a 1,000 year flooding event are nearing capacity. the reservoirs rising 4 inches per hour. >> we have experts monitoring the suspects 24/7. >> reporter: to control the flooding army corps of engineers

have to release the dams. but homes in the neighborhood could be flooded. floodwaters are rising rapidly bringing snakes and alligator to the front door forcing entire apartment buildings to flee to the roof. >> there's like 30 of us on the roof. across the street the building is caving in it's water everywhere, we have nowhere to go. >> half of the country's coast guard helicopters are in texas. they rescued 2,000 people already. fema has 900 search and rescue operators on the ground, they are calling on citizens to help their neighbors. >> people screaming out, help, help, we'll come back for you, next thing you know there's 20 different people you've rescued. >> with more bands of heavy rain expected the community will have to rely on each other once again. >> officials say harvey has already affected about a quarter of texas, nearly 7 million people and it is those same

communities like here in houston that are expected to get hit. abc news houston, texas. >> the national weather service warnings the flooding will get worse with heavy rainfall expected from harvey over the next several days. let's get the latest on the track of the persistent storm from david murphy. >> reporter: matt, tropical storm harvey is a big rainmaker. houston appearing to see lighter rain this is satellite imagery of the cloud tops. the darker shades is where the strength of the storm lies. the storm is a tropical storm and it has been that way since it made landfall. 40-mile an hour winds a gust of 50, not that it's a fairly strong wind nothing compared to friday night during landfall. the big issue it's stuck in texas it's slow to leave. probably will get out of texas until sometime wednesday at this point. there's enough mitch in the

storm to dunch an -- dump an additional 15 to 25 inches of rain. the return track is changing it's going to push farther to the east and perhaps miss houston, that's good, you might be wondering if all said and done at the end of this and they tell you this was not a record tropical storm rainfall for houston, it could set a record. in the city they may have seen more, you might wonder why we have this unprecedented flooding. some of the reason the previous rainfalls happened in the 70s and 80s, since then there's been urban sprawl and you have blacktop that creates run off and gives you runoff like this. it's a lot of rain and catastrophic flooding but it would not have happened 30 years with all the additional urban sprawl. we have rainfall falling off the

carolina coastline enough to give us rain tomorrow, that's a development on the tropical scene for us tomorrow. rip currents at the shore are already starting to get big. erma tomorrow, for now, the issue is harvey and the issue with harvey is rain. >> live outside the red cross headquarters in philadelphia, katherine scott has more on the local volunteers heading to the gulf coast to help. >> reporter: matt, you see the images, you want to help. you ask how can you help. financial donations are key for immediate relief, but there are other ways to pitch in. frightening images continue to remerge from texas, people stranded, homes destroyed, water rising. the eastern pennsylvania chapter of the american red cross has deployed 12 volunteers and judge rene hughes expects to send

more. at home there are many way you can help. the immediate is immediate. financial donations are fluid and flexible as easy as texting harvey to text 90999 to make a donation to the red cross. >> those things need to be cleaned sorted and shipped. it takes personnel and resources that detract us from our dominant mission. we're still in the eye of the storm. we have to get people safe. >> reporter: on sunday red cross volunteers embarked on a long journey to a staging area in baton rouge. from there they will make their way to houston with the truck stocked with food. if you want to give your time register to volunteer to get the necessary training now in order to volunteer for future disasters far and near. >> we're having disaster responses here at home. last night there were five fires

in southeast p-a. we need volunteers. >> reporter: the judge added there's a need for blood donations. >> we had to close hospitals in texas because they are not safe. the blood will have to be shifted around as we shift patients to other hospitals. >> reporter: for more on how to help whether or not through the red cross or other organizations, log onto 6abc.com we have a number of resources post for you there, details about how to help. live in center city, katherine scott channel 6 "action news." >> thank you katherine. let's give you the information you want to help. the number 1-800-red cross or text the word harvey to 90999 that will automatically send a 10-dollar donation. you can find the link at 6abc.com/harvey for the latest information out of texas. you can watch live broadcasts

from our sister station abc13 in houston and photo and videos from the flood zone. police say they have identified a drunk driver who damaged parked cars during a destructsive -- destructive ride in philadelphia. he was taken into custody on the 7800 block of large street. alvare is facing multiple charges including dui. this is a photo of a suspected tire slasher on the loose in south jersey. according to police the man walked into a parking lot somerdale municipal building in camden county and slashed 52 tires on police cruiser and fire vehicle. officials say appeared the man was trying to stay out of range of security cameras nearby. >> you could tell he is trying to hide through the lot going down low so you can only see one car and then he is out of

vision. obviously it looked like it was maybe like a utility knife or something like that, he slashed each one quickly. >> however that man was caught on camera at a nearby wawa after the incident where this photo was taken. if you recognize him call police. somerdale officials say the damage will cost 7 to $8,000 to fix. they expect to have all police cars back in service by the end of the day. a former bank economy is charged with tampering with donations meant for the local catholic church. the archdiocese of philadelphia is trying to figure out how much is missing. a former td bank clerk mishandled cash raised during fundraising drives. a deadly shooting is under investigation near the boardwalk in atlantic city. police rushed to the shooting scene around 9:30 p.m. and found a person dead along south

virginia avenue. investigators have not yet identified the victim and no arrests have been made. we're working to find out more about the victims of a serious crash along the pennsylvania turnpike northeast extension. two adults and four children were ejected from a vehicle yesterday in the northbound lanes past the lansdale exit. many motorists were stranded when authorities shut down the busy hey to airlift victims to the hospital. police have not told us the extent of the injuries. road closures are in effect ahead of the made in america festival. spring garden street pennsylvania avenue and the benjamin franklin parkway and two lanes around eakens over are shut down. more closures will take effect to make room for the construction of five different stages. more than 60 artists including jay-z will take part in the festival over the weekend. all streets will reopen by

september 5. today mark the first day for teachers and administrators in city schools. students head back one week from tomorrow. some students are back in class in wilmington, delaware. the action cam was at mount pleasant elementary for the first day of school in the brandywine school district. it was orientation for the smallest students. classes start in full tomorrow. >> fault in delaware county are gearing up for the first day of school there, chester upland school district head their convocation event this morning. it was a plan to layout the school year before the students arrive. classes start a week from tomorrow. how local law enforcement agencies may have access to military equipment because of the new executive order from president trump.

the opera festival coming to philadelphia will transform the city into a giant stage. david murphy will have the exclusive accuweather seven-day forecast when "action news" comes right back. you shop around. do your research. find the best fit. why not do the same for your prescription drug plan? at silverscript, we're experts in medicare part d. and 5 million people, just like you, trust us every day. with no deductible, we could help you save money... and get better coverage with access to pharmacies across the nation.

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them to a resident who was forced to evacuate. hundreds are forced to leave their homes in the last 24 hours. iraqi forces stay they are in the final stages of taking back a key city under control less than 100 miles from syria's border. it is one of the few remaining iraqi towns in isis hands following a liberation of mosul in july. jeff sessions will ask for a plan to lift restrictions on local military equipment that could passed on to police department. it's a step that civil liberties groans believe will lead to violence between police and protesters. president trump believe it is necessary for public safety. a summary of the executive order being circulated among police

groups describes the gear as defensive in nature intended to protect officers. today mark the 54th anniversary of the march on washington in the legendary i have a dream speech. 200,000 people gathered on august 28 in 1963 that pressured jfk to initiate a despites bill in congress. leaders are in washington for the 1,000 minister's march for justice. they are protesting president trump. many in the city are hit with higher property taxes. amazon completes the takeover of the whole foods grocery chain.

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trenton who were shocked by higher property assessments will have a chance to get their questions answered. city officials are holding two forums for property owners who have concerns about their assessments. the meetings are scheduled for tomorrow at 6 and 8:00 p.m. at trenton city hall. uber has a new top executive. the 8 member board voted to higher him yesterday. he replaced travis calnick and faces a number of challenges

including sexual harassment and espionage claims. amazon takes over whole foods today cutting prices at the grocery chain on dozens of items from fresh fish to produce. amazon gadgets are for sale. amazon prime members get a whole foods rewards program and special savings. "action news" team is out working on news stories beginning at 4:00 p.m. we have advice on avoiding scams. there are so many organizations to benefit harvey victims. find out how to spot the legitimate charities and stay away from those taking advanceful disaster. accuweather is next at noon, sky6 live hd showing the clouds moving in. david murphy has the seven day when we come right back. ♪

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giant has unbelievable pro tip produce prices. : so you'll never have to choose between your favorites. i thought i was your favorite. take a fresh look at giant's produce prices. >> you made a great point about the flooding in houston how there's more development there and more pavement tends to be a problem. >> reporter: we have problems in delaware and bucks and montgomery county floodplain issues lead to flooding downstream. storm tracker 6 live double scan doesn't show you any rain right now. we've got some, and will have have some tomorrow in the parts of the region.

outside we have philadelphia museum of art rooking -- looking nice, decent weather across the meade region. 73 degrees, the dewpoint in the low 50s well below the threshhold for humid air. it's beautiful as you step outside. wind breezy at 15, ocean temperature, 73. there's an issue in the water today more on that in a second. 72 in reading, 74 in trenton and wilmington. 673 in cape may, new jersey. while there's sunshine breaking through, and we just saw some earlier on the action cam at the museum of art there's high clouds filtering in. and thicker stuff to the south and west we'll wind up with a clouds and sun mix for most of the day. but at some point we'll see the clouds thicken you will. in the lehigh valley, 76 degrees. down the shore, mid 70s, 73

ocean water temperature is inviting. we have a high risk of rip currents it is the second time this summer i've seen that. this is not the day to get boo the water are be near the lifeguards and ask for their advice and follow their advice if you're thinking about getting in. it will be the same tomorrow. 79 is the high today, if you're checking out the braves decent night for baseball a little cooler in the latter innings. 72 in the first pitch, 68 in the 9th inning. overnight tonight, 65 degrees. tropical storm harvey has been meandering all weekend through southeastern texas. getting closer to the coast. it will get off the coast anne do a u-turn and head toward memphis, tennessee by friday or

saturday. looks like it will be out of texas by sometime wednesday or wednesday night. the new track has the most likely scenario anyway of that storm being east of houston that would take the strongest rain bands away from houston, which would be good. it's going to be a slow move to the south and then to the north. somebody will get hammered with an additional 15 to 25 inches of rain in texas before it dissipates farther inland. that means more flooding and as i mentioned a little while ago, houston has historic flooding down there. our next issue is tropical storm erma. this comes by us tomorrow, it will be far enough away to give us light rainfall, but it is pushing that swell in on the coast and we have the rip currents already high risk today

and tomorrow and maybe wednesday. 78 is the high, sun to clouds, no problems away from the beach. tomorrow, cloudy and rain, especially from i-95 down to the to the shore at times tomorrow. it shouldn't be too heavy because the storm is well off the coast because that's something to keep in mind. wednesday, clouds breaking, 78. thursday, a front comes at us, 83 is the high. late in the day and evening there could be a shower or thunderstorm popping up, then things clear out on friday, sunshine, the start of the holiday weekend looks good, sunny, 78 partly sunny on thursday, 83. >> there's much more ahead on "action news" at noon. powerful sounds of the opera about to take over philadelphia. karen rogers will tell us about an opera festival that will include several world premiere performances. the path to becoming a nurse starts today at several

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their belongings in the flood. >> it's back to school for all the eager children across the region. we'll show you the excitement for the students and the staff. now the details, harvey has affected about a quarter of the texas population so far that's about 7 million people. some parts of houston and the suburbs could see as much as 50 inches of rain before the storm is completely gone. that would be a record for texas. we have the latest from houston. >> reporter: this events is not behind us yet in houston texas. >> reporter: catastrophic flooding continues in texas as harvey drenches the state. rain bands are pummeling the area with no signs before heading up. it will held back to the gulf of mexico before moving to the texas/louisiana border and as -- >> it's a life sustaining mission. >> a lot