she just responds to beaumont and one officer says i-10 can get to the city of beaumont. they aren't completely on an island as it sounds port arthur is. port arthur, doesn't sound you can drive from beaumont to port arthur. there's no other roads that you can go in and out on. the only way that port arthur is getting help is if someone takes a boat in there or if these helicopters fly in to rescue those people. i think the situation is dire in beaumont but more life threatening in port arthur area. >> bill, thanks very much for that. bill karins on this with me for more than a week now, over a week. if you are looking to help thousands of victims in texas and louisiana, the american red cross is taking donations, call 1-800 help-now or text harvey, 90999 to make a $10 donation. we'll keep an eye on the helicopter thatmy g miguel is o. we're on top of the story for you. stay with us, you're watching msn msnbc. your brain is an amazing thing. but as you get older, it naturally begins to change, causing a lack of sharpness, or even trouble with recall. thankfully, the break

this is southern baptist hospital in beaumont, texas. evacuating patients because the hospital no longer has running water. you see military personnel on the scene there. helicopters parked off in the grass. medical personnel bringing out, you see the patients, wheelchairs, gurneys, otherwise here. again, this hospital forced to evacuate when they lost running water a bit earlier today. you see -- see the cameras. we're watching pictures as you are. but you see -- gurneys, medical personnel there. military personnel and medical personnel assisting a patient. watch this play out. again, a reminder. you just saw anderson cooper with a coast guard crew. these look like army or national guard helicopters on the ground here. military now part of the remarkable heroism playing out across the houston area in texas. five days after harvey made landfall, the aftermath still being felt despite the rain stopping. beaumont, southern baptist hospital, again, forced to evacuate patients because they lost running water. you see the military personnel c

stephanie, the folks in beaumont in and around beaumont right now -- again, i know you're 20 miles north as we look at this -- as we look at this little boy with his family. you know, we've been watching these pictures for days now. and after a while, it becomes very difficult to not be moved by some of these images. the folks in beaumont specifically, stephanie, what are they telling you they need most right now? >> reporter: they need their roads open, craig. i mean, that's the thing. you've got a city of 100,000 people that is completely cut off. and an official from the police department told us that they tried in vain last night to get an 18-wheeler in with supplies, with water and food. and it tried to pass the roads and couldn't get by. so helicopter, and what miguel is seeing today is really the only way outside of what was already in the city that they're relying on, and we come to these points along the road, and we've now been to a few of them, because we have tried a number of routes into beaumont and failed. and at each flood point, we see gathered help. we see trucks. we se

does beaumont need more?ng harvey has been with texas, it is almost shocking that there is more people that still need to be rescued. >> yes and when we look at the situation, though, we don't want to overwhelm the -- that seems odd, but what i mean by that is we can put too many resources maybe in the wrong place or in the place that clogs up the efforts of other first responders and what is occurring. so we -- this is a large scale operation, a very complex one. we have a plan, a coordinated effort, our dual status commander, a texas guardsmen, is apprised of the entire sight picture, working with our federal, state and local partners to make sure that the proper resources go to the right place and at the right time, so we can help those local and state officials save lives and take care of people. >> colonel, can you tell me what you have available to you? i don't know if you have -- you know the helicopter we're looking at, looks like a blackhawk what have you got in terms of helicopters and other vessels

next to beaumont. the water literally cuts off these two cities and has made beaumont an island. up in the air as soon as they got over beaumont they looked for the first sign of a person or people that needed help. they were r where, ali. everywhere. in neighborhoods all across that area. they found families who were waving flags, towels, sheets. that's the first group we hovered over. they drapd their rescue basket about a hundred feet down. first a member of the u.s. air force went down in that rescue basket, rap peld down. they then hoeded up families after families. we're talking very young children, their parents. and as you just saw here, even the disabled and the elderly. they hoisted them up into the air. they're bringing them right back here to safe ground. they're going into that convention center behind me, checking in. there's cots there, understood there. the rescue teams, they're off, already gun looking for more family. >> incredible. talk to me about the fact the way it looked like it

a disaster there in beaumont. now imagine the added difficulty loved ones or even ambulances might face locating these patients with flooded roads or no power for the past couple of days. this is obviously a developing situation. we will be sure to keep you updated on that hospital in beaumont. we are also monitoring another story here on the ground in crosby, texas. there were reports overnight of an explosion overnight at a chemical plant. this morning we learned that county officials and the executives at that chemical plant saying it was more of a chemical reaction. now we're working to determine how dangerous some of that material might be in the air here. the county sheriff saying the chemicals are similar to breathing in smoke from a campfire. however, a short while ago one of the executives said it might be worse than that. >> when you have a fire where hydrocarbon chemicals are burning, sometimes you have incomplete combustion and you have smoke. and any smoke is going to be an irritant to your eyes or yo

canvassing the beaumont area.ecause our anderson cooper is inside that chopper and hopefully can resume or conversation with him he was able to tell us the diver assessed that the person on the rooftop appears to be okay. does want to be rescued. because there are occasions people are near their homes and don't want rescued and have to, then, make the assessment when they encounter folks and apparently the person on the rooftop communicated there's another person who is inside the house, and so that diver rescue swimmer will get inside the house, try to assess the need of that person. meantime, the chopper will continue to canvas the area looking for anyone else who needs assistance, and then return when the time is right to put any number of people, pets, et cetera, inside the basket. in our conversation live as it was happening, anderson was telling us that six to eight people can be in a basket, and then they are brought back up to the chopper. and then they will continue to look for others, if they need to res

it is now moving to the east into beaumont. that's where life-threatening flooding is going on right now. look at the numbers. 51.88 in cedar bayou. that's over the entire period. what's happening in beaumont, 26 inches of rain in the last 24 hours. the center of the circulation has moved to the east and is doing the same thing to beaumont and port arthur that it did to houston. we're shifting the attention to where drew griffin is. that's a desperate situation for some folks there. we saw the video of what he did. thanks to him. a hero on tv right there. we see the rain showers move across georgia, mississippi and alabama and parts of louisiana. we're going to see three to five inches of rain into areas flooded today. mobile, you could pick up eight inches of rain today, especially to the north. watch for flooding there. we will take you to the reservoirs. been hearing about these things for a few days. one has a levee that does this. that stop was ter frter from go the buffalo bayou and houston. barker has a democrat heam her

the storm total went from the houston area to beaumont. we continue to update these numbers and, of course, we had that one spot that was about 51 inches. just to keep it in perspective. 21 trillion gallons that's how much they estimate fell in the greater area and that's the volume of water over niagara falls in one year. have you ever been to niagara falls and how much water is flowing over that. that is an incredible amount of water that has flown over that region. unimaginable problems. we're not done. the storm is heading north. as we track it north, it still has this big rain shield and moving and making progress but starts going over hillier terrain and funnel the water into the smaller areas. areas of northern mississippi and also up here. watch out around greenville and also the memphis area. still the potential for up to seven inches of rain in west tennessee. if it wasn't for what already happened, this is a big deal. wait and see how much destruction takes place. >> bottom line, bill karins. this is not over yet. this seems lik

this is the scene in beaumont, texas.y mentioned, no running water now, that caused one hospital in the city to shut down. they had to evacuate at least 200 patients so far. some of the patients by helicopter. you watched those images play out over the last hour or so. rising flood waters in beaumont, knocked out the main pumping station. that's why there's no running water there. kerry sanders is on duty in beaumont for us where lack of running water forced a hospital shutdown and evacu

this is the road to beaumont. 2:00 a.m. this was dry. you can cease see a subdivisioy left and right. all through the afternoon, these voters have been going out and bringing people and who were stuck, stranded in their houses. we've seen a couple families with small children, knapsacks on their backs. a few elderly people cold and disoriented, having a tough time walking. also pets. they are clearing out the subdivision. the real danger now is for officials to get in there and do rescues like the parks and recreation police. there is an entire areas that are islands. you can't get there by boat or vehicle. they are going to have to wait for the water to come down to get to places like lumberton behind me which is really an island. if you are on lumberton right now, the only way to get rescued is by helicopter. >> pete: how much of this is driven by authorities and how much our citizens taking action on their own? what are you seeing on the ground? >> we saw a convoy about 50 parks and recreation's vehicles with boats moving fast in toug

baptist beaumont hospital, the main pumping station there loss of service.hey no longer had running water. these are live images, obviously that you're seeing right now of hospital workers jumping in and trying to aid in the end back you asian of these nearly 200 patients that were in that hospital. i open this up to the couch as we watch these life pictures, this is unbelievable. >> kennedy: it is under legal because hospitals oftentimes are fortified with their own facilities. they are still self sufficient obviously. this storm is unlike anything that these places have been able to deal with. we know the water supply has been compromised in beaumont as well and it's very heroic. >> sandra: as i said, these 200 patients need to be evacuated by air. we're going to stay on this for you, we'll have more on the other side, will be right back. four weeks without the car. okay, yup. good night. with accident forgiveness your rates won't go up just because of an accident. switching to allstate is worth it. but prevagen helps your brain with an ingredient original

many parts of beaumont are under water. officer, what are the current conditions in beaumont right now? how would you describe it? >> well, right now we are just -- for lack of a better term, treading water. we are trying to get to all of the people calling in for emergency rescue. not to mention the people who have called on a non-emergency rescue just because of floodwaters that are rising. right now our neighbors in port arthur and surrounding counties are taking water in their shelters. so that's creating a problem because our shelter is almost at max capacity. now we're having to deal with trying to help out our neighbors as well. it's all hands on deck. the emergency management office is up and running. we're just continuously monitoring and trying to get logistics and planning going. >> how are you getting to people that you believe are in need? are you using boats and high water vehicles? how do you know which residents to go to? >> we are continuing to tell people to call 911 or our non-emergency 311 lines. our pol

beaumont looks like one enormous, overflowing river.g video of the many rescues in and around the area. one of which you participated in yourself. share with us that story quickly. >> reporter: yeah, we were setting up for a live shot the other day -- actually for the morning. it seems like a week ago. we were setting up for a live shot. it was pouring rain. the waters were very high. you could not distinguish between a roadway, a ravine, a gully, and a drainage ditch. this fellow thought he was turning on to a road and turned right into a rapidly flowing drainage ditch. within seconds he was in the water. he was floating downstream, trying to swim out of the vehicle. we fortunately were able to get a rope to him and grabbed him. his truck quickly submerged. [ inaudible ] >> we're having audios issues with the phone call. we understand that happens in the midst of storms like this. drew griffin live from beaumont, texas, where they have a serious issue about the water suppli. to his point, sewers, major concern. bathing, showering, cook

actually i'm in friendswood which is a ways away from beaumont but beaumont is my district. >> tell us what the need is there and how many more people do you believe are still in need of rescue? >> jim, it's unbelievable. this is the widest flooding. i was born and raised on the gulf coast 63 years. i have three districts, galveston county and the southern half of galveston county. my wife and i are going through the suburbs and there are still people trapped in houses. you're seeing the rain and the flood that made its way over to jefferson county as harvey moved east. there is probably thousands, if not tens of thousands of people out there in the beaumont/port arthur area that need evacuation. there are going to be shelters set up. it's so widespread, it's incredible. >> you're saying that still today there are thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of people, who are still in need of rescue in the beaumont and port arthur area? >> i don't know if it's strictly in jefferson county, i'm talking about across my district. jim, there are people who stayed in their houses. what you have to

navy rescuing flood victims in beaumont, texas. tough pictures to watch. >>> corpus christi mayor joe mccomb was at the briefing yesterday with president trump and he joins me now by phone. mr. mayor, thank you for taking the time to talk to us today. i want to ask you, your community was hit early on in this, and you've not seen maybe some of the levels of flooding in houston. clearly still a lot of work for you to do. how is corpus christi doing and what are your next steps in your community? >> thank you for having us. relatively speaking corpus christi compared to what you're seeing and describing, we dodged a bullet, but we did have some damage. we have got all our power plants, water treatment facilities back up and running. waste water facilities back up and running. so -- and we got, you know, power and about 95% of the city now. still a little bit. we ought to have power back to the whole city with maybe the exception of just isolated instances. but we're in the recovery and cleanup mode. a lot of trash, a lot of brush to

our intention was to get to beaumont today and the main thoroughfare leading into beaumont is completelydown so you have a community that's dealing with rising flood waters, all kinds of damages to their homes but also the lack of power and add on to that, no usable drinking water coming out of the faucets and that is a huge problem. so that's why we say, even though the sun is out now, even though the rain has stopped, the real work of recovering from hurricane harvey is really just beginning in many of these communities. >> you are so correct. ryan nobles, thank you so much to you and your crew there in orange, texas. and you saw on your screen, $75 billion. that is the estimate of the damage done by this hurricane and tropical storm. >>> we're minutes away from the white house press briefing. we'll bring that to you live as soon as we see it. >>> we're also watching more and more of these live rescues playing out on television. this is a scene in houston. more with special coverage when cnn continues. booking a flight at the last minute doesn't have to be expensive. just go to priceli

for the people in beaumont, bill? >> on social media. port arthur and beaumont. it's a dire situation as you could imagine. the rainfall last night was sometimes coming down four inches an hour. harvey has made landfall, look at the rain. still sitting right over beaumont, in the orange and down into the port arthur area. the devastation is not done there yet and it could get worse throughout the day. we'll continue to monitor the situation. further to the north, we could even have flooding as far north as tennessee over the next couple of days. even the memphis area, possibility of up to seven inches of rainfall. although we're going to be done with houston, the beaumont-port he devastation from harvey. just so sad that this story won't end. it just keeps going. >> bill, thank you. >>> fast-forwarding to a wednesday, president trump hits the road to settle his tax reform plan. the president will hold a closed event at a ventilation company in springfield, missouri, where he'll make the case for simplifying the tax code. >>> two million muslims are expected to ar

here's why we have all of these issues, beaumont, texas, this is at the airport, in between beaumontours they had 11 inches of rain. that's equivalent to what houston had saturday night into sunday, everybody woke up, what happened. that's what happened in the beaumont area. 24-hour unimaginable rainfall total of 26 inches of rain. that's one of the highest we've ever had recorded in our entire country in one calendar day. 24 inches in a day. the rainfall moved northward. here's beaumont, still raining. port arthur is located here not raining quite as hard there. is this is going to exit and head out during the day. we do have saturated ground. we do have flash floods throughout the region. this is the flash flood emergencies where people are being rescued as we speak. and we could still get additional areas of concern. will it be as bad as beaumont and port arthur, likely not. we still could get five to seven inches today. up in the hill country in western tennessee we're predicting seven inches of rain. western kentucky and western louisiana. when you get elevations like that, the

loop the port arthur/beaumont area together. these rainfall totals are from the airport. it went from serious yesterday to now just unimaginably devastation, destruction, people were like fleeing for their lives throughout the region. 26.4 inches of rain in 24 hours. we showed you those crazy hutle totals and that was 50 inches in four days. that was 24 hours. that's unheard of anywhere in the country, almost anywhere in the world. in six hours they got 11 inches of rain. i was listening to a press conference with the judge for jefferson county. he was saying that houston had the advantage of many different highways and ways getting in and people with boats from other cities and towns could get in there. all the roads are completely impassable to get to bbeaumont port arthur. the only way they can get aid is through the air. so they will need to count on the national guard doing those rescues. they have already lost three fire trucks in high water and i've heard similar reports, their resources are being eaten up too by the floo

you touched on this, but let's talk about beaumont, texas. the navy conducted search and rescue operations. they airlift 25 men and women from dangerous situations there. and this storm broke a weather record. so it dropped 52 inches of rain in a single storm. you really do understand this storm left a lot of water. it left a lot of damage. and now people are just left to do their best to recover. >> you did a lot of interviews. you saw someone on my way into work. you spoke with local police officers. what is their situation? what do they need? how are their spirits? >> reporter: you know, their spirits are high. but the police chief, acevedo, explained what it was like in the early days. the early days where his men and women were not allowed to go home. they couldn't go home because they had so many calls to take on. they were prioritizing those life-threatening calls, and the calls kept coming and coming and coming in the days that continued on. these men and women and law enforcement, they are getting those breaks. they're able to go hom

drew, what is the latest in beaumont? >> reporter: they are going to go out and check the water pump that's in the river. the they should be doing that now. they had to take a boat out to do that. that failure is what caused all the water in the city of beaumont to just go dry. it happened very quickly. 12:30 this morning, the word went out that the water supply, the pumt ps had gone out and i'll tell you by the time i woke up this morning about 3:00, there was no water in the system. it could be a quick fix. it could be a days' fix, and this is of city without water is going to be a problem especially with all thewater surrounding it that you can't use. the that's one of the bigger problems here. they are going to begin now starting to door to door rescues, checks, to make sure everything is good. but as of right now, the city water supply, that is the big problem in beaumont. >> absolutely, drew. these keep us posted on what's happening there. there's obviously great concern. >>> now to the human tragedy and toll of thi

kerry sanders is live for us now in beaumont. kerry? >> natalie, this is where the one domino falls and it hits the next one and goes down. in this area we've had hell oppositer operations. the one we were with, air and marine operations unit, they were supposed to be back here today, continuing to search in the area for those who need to be extracted. because of what's happening in the chemical plant their blackhawk has had to zip over there to add some support. one of their three helicopters is over there, helping to survey the area from the sky above. it's a nine-minute flight in a black hawk. they went straight over there which, of course, impacts people here. we were up yesterday with them. you can see in this video people who there's no way for them to get out because of their own infirmities. the gentleman here was paralyzed, up to his waist in water in his wheelchair. there was little the neighbors could do for him until the folks from air and marine operations, agents who are usually law enforcement agents doing rescues repelle

the but the center still close to beaumont. eventually making it into memphis. >>> something else, this buffalo bayou thing and we're still going to see some rain but it's going to be east of the buffalo bayou and that will not go into it procedure. so here is the addicks and barker reservoir, they were built a long time ago to hold water going into houston. when houston had a population of 250,000. now, over millions. here is the map itself. i'm going to move you head -- i'm going to toss back to you until we get the camera worked out. >> we understand we are forgiven given the sheer magnitude and complicated niert of everything happening. we know you will help us understand what is going on when you get that set. thank you very much. >>> let's get back to houston. houston police chief sat water rescue calls are just down to 40. still more to go. ar miguel marquez is out in thatwater. >> skies are blue here. at least seeing some blue skies. water is receding but some of those rescues are still happening and people can start to

we are clear that the water system is down in beaumont so we are tracking that. we are working with our partners looking tothe state open distribution to be able to service in the dire situation. right now,ration -- it's under 300,000. in some cases, you may lose power but private power companies are looking to take grids down and fixed line so it could be intermittent in the areas where the water is receding in the sun is out. we need to set your expectations. power can be out from multiple days to the did -- due to the damage. security does not seem to be an issue right now. we have overwhelming presence not only from the federal government but the first responders on the ground and the state of texas are doing a phenomenal job of making sure the area is safe and secure. we are continuing to track any security issues we have. is huge rightt now, obviously. the american public has seen a lot of nursing homes and hospitals being evacuated. price is working with his counterparts in the state of texas along with fema. large scale a amounts of medical teams into tex

and there's a hospital in beaumont had to evacuate it's patients today. is there any time line for getting clean water services back? >> i'll tell you what, with the corps of engineers is working with the desires and methods with the city of beaumont to devise a method which when we can get that drinking water online. we had a setback with that because major grids that lead outside of the city of beaumont which is going east towards louisiana, that had to be closed. so that's -- i-10 closed going to work, i-10 closed going east, and 90 closed because of a massive explosion in the houston area. kind of put us at a disadvantage around here right now. >> well, to say the least. another statement you might say. it's the old saying, water, water everywhere, but not a drop to drink. you mentioned the explosions. your county has a lot of refineries, oil services, et cetera, there was one explosion earlier today, what's your level of concern about, about that danger from the plants, the refineries, et cetera? >> well, i tell you what, the plants here, we feel pre

so let's get right to abc's gio benitez outside beaumont tonight. >> reporter: tonight, beaumont and port arthur, texas under water. residents waking up to this. major freeway interstate i-10 now completely underwater. cars completely submerged. in some places, catastrophic flood waters reaching rooftops. >> i'm on my roof right now. >> reporter: families in agony, waving white towels signaling for help. in the last 24 hours, the storm tragically claiming two lives here in beaumont, 41-year-old colette sulcer died. her 3-year-old daughter clinging to her as both were swept away. her little girl, miraculously, in stable condition tonight. in nearby port arthur, workers racing to evacuate this flooded nursing home. more than 70 elderly patients in bedrooms and hallways. workers gathering desperately needed medical supplies and oxygen tanks. outside, local residents with their own boats taking them to safety. a military chopper later landing on the highway to air lift some out. city officials pleading for volunteers to come with boats to help with rescues, and we were there as so many s

but we're chasing that storm, beaumont is a city of about 100,000 people. it's on the nachez river, had already received quite a bit of flooding, there's been some voluntary evacuations and now it is getting the brunt of those bands of heavy rain from harvey, as you mentioned, still a tropical storm, it's getting that rain that you saw that fell on houston, there's a forecast of 20 inches, they are the next ones to face the brunt of this storm. >> it's remarkable that this storm came on shore as a category 4 saturday night and it remains offshore. and we're looking at maya's shot where she is still getting rain and they will probably get rain until thursday night. this is still a tropical storm east of houston and is still getting battered. so the worst of it isn't there yet, stephanie, where you are? >> reporter: no, it isn't and they're going to get it, and you may have seen some of the people who have been tracking these storms and seen some of the headlines, there is an alligator farm in beaumont, texas and they house 350 alligators and we heard earlier

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 vic

as the mayor of beaumont said they're underwater. people have been heroic, we lost a wonderful member of the houston police department. who left his home and said, i've got to go to work. tragically he lost his life. we lost that wonderful family in my constituent area. so i feel the pain of people who are still suffering. let me say this, we're probably losing 30 to 40,000 homes, hundreds of thousands of kars. these numbers are going to be astronomical. we have no time for anyone dividing on the funding for the state of texas. >> you mentioned the cars, the homes, do you have a sense, are you able at this point to get your head around what day-to-day life in houston and the area is going to be like in the months -- first few years after this? what's it going to be like a year from now as a result of this storm? >> well, let me tell you, we have heard from those who have been through this, and -- as well, experts, fema representatives, that this may be years of recovery. our local officials, mayor and county judge and others, years o

a lot of focus tonight on beaumont and port arthur.on is a big area with refining breaks, it has already been hit, how are they now? reporter: we're in next phase, in galveston county, dickenson. down on galveston island, things are all right, this is part of the country south of houston, waterway here has recede the, we're get a clearer picture of what water left behind. as of 48 hours ago, the only way you could access dickinson was by boat. a barber shop. you have hair on the ground from the last hair cuts done here. and you can actually see where the water came up to the base of these stations here. this is what feet of water will do in a home or in a business. this is just barber shop, the plate glass window broken out. going down the line of this shopping center, you have a tobacco place. you have dentist's office, a nail salon. all of the stuff you see in between me and the camera, guy hernandez running camera, is all of the stuff that has been pulled out of the businesses. it is just hard to imagine that this is all just going

. >> officials say the city of beaumont is an island.any of those that flaed to shelters found out nowhere was safe as water started to fill one convention center surrounding their cots. >> in how's, the sun was out today, but this disaster was right around the corner. >> i lost everything i had. >> tell me what it was like. >> it is nothing you can imagine. you see it happen other places and it never happens here. >> more than 18500 people have been rescued. 14,000 national guard troops are now activated. the high es level ever deployed. the president will be visiting. he is facing krcriticism for no being there. we have reporters across texas. you have been seeing rescue after rescue all day, and it is wednesday. >> it is just waves upon waves of rescues, katie. you see the water just stretches as far as the eye can see. people with their own private boats bringing them here to try and do what they can. one of those people is coal hefner of texas, you live a couple hundred miles from here, why did you decide to come out? >> myself and

with all eyes on port arthur and beaumont. i can't imagine a worse situation. now here's a closer look at your day ahead. you can see the thunderstorm threat and the showers and the heavy rain associated with harvey after it makes landfall today. we had the heavy rain yesterday, raw, cool day. still today in the areas of the northeast. i'll continue to update you. if i find any new information out around the texas, louisiana border. >> bill, thank you. >>> we have some other transgender troops will continue to serve in the military for now at least. that's according to defense secretary jim mattis who is freezing president trump's order. mattis says he wants a panel to study the matter before implementing the policy. >>> a bus driver in new york city is in critical condition after his bus rolled down the street. he suffered a punctures lung and broken arm and leg. >>> a woman in china is lucky to be alive after falling through a floor in a subway station lt. another passenger pulled her to safety. more "doing chores for dad" per roll more "earning something you

the air above beaumont is full of aircraft at this time. they're deployed the same way we are, working steadily to try to rescue people. >> our martin savage on board one of those u.s. navy helicopters. we know there are ten navy helicopters, six sea hawks like the one he's on, four sea dragons. you saw in the air some of the other air assets up. 21 people rescued just in this one helicopter. but, again, thousands, perhaps tens of thousands still in need of rescue there. marty, when you speak to the crews, how long do they intend to keep at these rescue operations? >> reporter: well, they have been working with them round the clock. once darkness sets in, it becomes a different issue, but that doesn't mean they stop. it just means that they have to limit the number of aircraft that are operating. and they are ever more selective of what mission they go on. more and more assets continue to arrive, especially from the military aspect here. we were 25 minutes down here. but that airport up there is just a bee hive of activity. we understand mo

this as another emergency unfolds in beaumont. there the city's two sources of water have been cut off because of the historic flooding. cnn has crews in all the relevant locations. let's begin with cnn's polo sandoval in richmond, texas. >> reporter: good morning. these mandatory evacuations are adding to the ones already in place in fort ben county texas, not far from the city of houston where the river levels continue to rise. residents in these communities are being asked to pack up and move out as soon as the sun rises. in houston authorities there are also very busy right now, expected to begin going door to door making sure they didn't leave anybody be lined and everybody who needed rescues was rescued. this is going to be a time consuming process according to the houston fire department. >> we'll be doing basically a block-by-block, door-to-door search for of structures that have had greater than three feet of water in them to make sure no people have been left behind. this will be a one to two-week process to make sure we

it's still a very fluid situation here in beaumont. as you can see, the military has taken over this parking lot. a short time ago they were launching helicopters from here and just down the road they're sending rafts into the water. they have been conducting rescues all day long. many thought the worst had passed, but they were wrong. tonight this is the massive rescue operation under way. harrowing moments as children like 11-year-old joshua, his parents and neighbors, are plucked from fast-rising flood waters. desperation turning sboo relief. >> we were like so happy, like god -- >> it happened all day long. starting early this morning when we boarded a team of navy see hawk helicopters headed to hard hit beaumont, texas. >> the weather in beaumont has been deteriorating all day long. it's now time for these crews to go. >> within minutes at that mika single ton was spotted with her family, desperately waving a white towel. >> i thought you all were going to pass us up because another helicopter had came and passed us up. we got so

particularly, and beaumont. president said earlier today that there are 100,000 homes that have been damaged by the storm and we have seen many of them across this particular city. the other major concern right now is the pump stations, the water. there is no running water for the city of nearly 120,000 people. they lost the main pump station and the secondary water source overnight and that is why there was 200 patients from baptist beaumont hospital had to be evacuated. the hospital spokesperson said they were prepared for any storm, the building was flood proof and they have plenty of resources and generators for power but they cannot operate without running water. that was a game changer and that is why they began early this morning, beginning with 16 nursing home patients, some of which needed dialysis, putting them on a helicopter, those patients were taken to jasper, others to other hospitals across the region that were capable of taking care of them. not just people need saving, martha. we saw an incredi

beaumont where drew is is not even close to being out of the woods. >> reporter: beaumont has picked up 14 inches of rain just today. this is on top of the over 20 inches that has already fallen. the area in purple, in most cities in the u.s. would flood with 10 inches. we're talking the size of the state of kentucky, but it's east of houston, it's beaumont, lake charles, which got lucky today. the good news is, the rain is ending in houston. the back edge, on the edge of your screen here, you see it slowly sliding off to the east and northeast. we still have the center of harvey offshore. it will make landfall. it has been strengthening. it went from 45 miles per hour to 50. the problem is the convergence right over beaumont. so this is a concern now for emergency services and possible rescues to go into eastern parts of texas into western louisiana. we thought new orleans was going to have rain, four to six inches overnight. they did not see it. they were sandbagging in plaquemines parish, they're not going to need that. it picks up with speed and mov s s out. that's the best news.

it turned dire in beaumont quickly. while we were on the ground and in the air, there were more than 300 rescues, and they continue tonight. the crews we were with in the air say they have infrared. those helicopters, lester, they'll be flying all night. >> boy, miguel, what a sense of the human drama. hats off to those rescuers. thanks for bringing us that story tonight. >>> now to houston where the crisis is far from over even as the floodwaters begin to relent in the nation's fourth largest city. th today divers made a discovery they had been dreading. that family washed away in this enormous tragedy. we get the latest from nbc's gabe gutierrez. >> reporter: today in texas, the death toll crew sharply. search crews discovering the submerged van believed to belong to the saldivar family. six relatives had been missing for days. retirees and their great-grandkids. the youngest just 6 years old. >> our worst fears have been realized. >> reporter: also near houston two volunteer rescuers are dead and two others missing a

in the beaumont/part arthur area.just to refresh everybody's idea of just how much rainfall occurred they can see all the way back towards college station and indeed towards san antonio we saw significant rainfall amounts not just in harris county but these are some of the rainfall totals since august 25th. cedar bayou at just under 51 inches of rainfall just about four and a half inches of rain. but right around the beaumont part arthur area we'll be amazed at how much rainfall accumulates over the next 24 hours. in some instances it's estimated an additional 8 to 12 inches in addition to some of the already estimates that there was as much as 40 inches over the last three days in beaumont part argument you but in will ring itself out over the tennessee valley and ohio valley over the next several days. back to you guys. >> karen, thanks so much for the forecast. all right. >>> well the next guest, he was one of the first evacuees to arrive at the megashelter in houston's george brown convention center but not before

the city of beaumont right now doesn't have water. so that presents an additional problem for our county. you know? so, again, that's what most first responders and people who assessed damage in their homes, now trying to save lives. >> and sheriff, how devastates is your area? is your jurisdiction. you said you've never seen anything like this in your lifetime. politicians will be baaing in washington to figure how much aid these parts of texas needs. what is your message to the politicians in washington who are going to have to come to your aid here in the coming months and even years? >> well, you know, certainly it's devastating. you know? and i understand -- i think when you consider what's happened in houston, we watched that unfold. you know? and just a few miles away, a few days, you're safer and happy here. i was, i would implore, first of aural, our politicians to understand the resources needed to get gak to the basic necessities of life. right now we don't have water. many areas here. for simple things. you know? and so we

should make landfall later this morning in cameron parish, just to the southeast of beaumont, where we have been looking at torrential rains all through the overnight hours, more than 20 inches of rain in beaumont, port you can see as we get a closer look at the radar, how the rain spins in the same areas and the colors of orange and red indicate where that really heavy rain is falling along i-10 between beaumont and lake charles. in houston, things are slowly drying out. a few sprinkles this morning and that's certainly good news. tropical storm warnings are in effect for the houston area through the coast of louisiana. we do expect to see that landfall from harvey, another u.s. landfall, coming up later on this morning, probably closer to 7:00 or 8:00 local time near cameron. and then continue to push north rather quickly, thankfully as it moves through central parts of louisiana by tonight. and then quickly spinning into a tropical low and moves through the midwest over the weekend, taking all that rain with it. in fact, you can see that rain moving with the center of the storm, but

in fact it's still pouring rain in some areas, now let's bring it to beaumont. they have had over 24-inches of rain and counting within just a day. so that's about an inch an hour if not a lot more. in fact a lot of that fell within just 12 hours or so. so now their homes are submerged and nay need a lot -- they need a lot of help and rescuing as well on top of what's going on just west getting a little bit of motion and that's a sign of maybe it will be out of here by tomorrow. it's still raining in texas. and it's still raining in beaumont. now this will move to the north and east ever so slowly. by tomorrow, we'll finally be done with the rain in texas. that will be six days where it was raining in texas all from harvey. so you can see some areas are doing okay and new orleans just seeing some scattered showers. actually seeing some of the heavier bands stayed over -- two states over rather into alabama. they getting a lot of the rain as well. so here's how much rain we're expecting on top of what we've already seen. another 6 inches or so through beaumont an

now that rain has moved to the beaumont region in southeast texas.pproximately 15 inches of rain have already fallen in the area and there's more to come. the worst is not yet over for southeast texas as far as the rain is concerned. there will be ongoing challenges both during the time that rain continues to fall as well as for approximately four days to a week to come. let me mention specifically, flooding conditions that will continue to be a challenge for people in the area. and includes the sabine and natchez rivers, there will be record flooding in the lower natchez and the flooding there may last a week. major flooding will continue for a few days in the beaumont region and the lower brazos river region where there could be extensive flooding for about a week if not longer. and the lower colorado region, there should be flooding for the rest of the week. over in victoria and querro, there should be ongoing flooding for a few days. it is important for people in all of these regions, as well as in every county that's affected by storms that you

port arthur and beaumont, look

this is the scene in beaumont, texas. as casey mentioned, no running water now, that caused one hospital in the city to shut down. they had to evacuate at least 200 patients so far. some of the patients by helicopter. you watched those images play out over the last hour or so. rising flood waters in beaumont, knocked out the main pumping station. that's why there's no running water there. kerry sanders is on duty in beaumont for us where lack of running water forced a hospital shutdown and evacuation of patients. what's the latest there? >> reporter: okay. we've seen the first transfer out of the evacuated patients, starting with the most critical patients and work down. the two army national or two texas army national guard helicopters we saw come in took the patients in an orderly fashion, it was very noisy, but it may seem chaotic, it is actually controlled. they took each of the patients, placed them on the helicopters. they're flying to jasper. family members here want to know loved ones will be okay, want to be with

flood emergencies ongoing in beaumont and port arthur, texas. a foot of rain has fallen in the past 24 hours, swallowing homes and shutting down a major interstate. adam klotz joins us from the fox extreme weather center with more. adam, what now? >> well, unfortunately, more rain right now. here's what we're looking at rainfall totals. this is the beaumont, port arthur area. 45 inches coming in the last 24 hours. it's insane. the last 48 hours, you can see this rain running on shore during that time. those were real downpours off the coast. backing out a little bit. here's how the season looks. we've seen this rain stretching across the gulf coast. the heaviest showers have been close to the circulation where we've seen landfall. the good news is, folks in houston as of recently, now looking at clear skies. so at least a little time for them to dry off and clear off. how long do the rest of the folks have? pay attention to your future radar. at 5:00 p.m. today, we'll put this in motion for you. it's going to continue to lift to the north and of

communities just like beaumont there. we will bring you live rescues as they happen because they are still happening. we are getting new assessments of the devastation across the flood zone. much more breaking news coverage of this storm. please stay with us. if you have medicare parts a and b and want more coverage, guess what? you could apply for a medicare supplement insurance plan whenever you want. no enrollment window. no waiting to apply. that means now may be a great time to shop for an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. medicare doesn't cover everything. and like all standardized medicare supplement insurance plans, these help cover some of what medicare doesn't pay. so don't wait. call now to request your free decision guide. it could help you find the aarp medicare supplement plan that works for you. these types of plans have no networks, so you get to choose any doctor who accepts medicare patients. rates are competitive, and they're the only plans of their