lana zak reports. lana: in an angry, defensive scree, president trump tried to shift the blame for charlottesville. president trump: i got the white supremacists, the neo-nazi, i got them all in there, kkk. i got them all. lana: for nearly half an hour of his 75-minute speech -- president trump: they are bad people. i really think they don't like our country. lana: the president said the media was to blame. president trump: you want to discover the source of the division in our country, look no further than the fake news and the cricket media -- crooked media. president trump: to tell the truth, i'm an honest person. what i'm saying, you know is exactly right. lana: as the president read his statements, he left out his two most controversial points. president trump: displays of hate, bigotry, violence on many sides. on many sides. people -- very fine people -- on both sides. arpaio --iff president trump: do the people in this room like sheriff joe? lana: the divisions in the country were on display jus

lana zak joins us right now. lana: good afternoon. president trump is currently deciding whether or not to declare a state of emergency in advance of hurricane harvey making landfall. that is expected to happen in about se

lana zak joining us from houston. we'll have another live report from lana later on in the next half hour. >>> houston area hospitals in the meantime are facing several challenges that may be making things tough to stay open. two critical issues, getting staff to and from work, and the delivery of supplies. >> at least two area hospitals have already decided to evacuate patients. bay shore medical center is moving nearly 200 patients to several other hospitals in the area. it's also suspending services, including its 24-hour emergency medical center. >> and one hospital there, ben taub, canceled the evacuation of 200 patients because the roads are too difficult to travel there. we spoke on the phone with wendy waterman. she and two dozen other people are waiting for water to recede. >> we would see one helicopter fly by, another helicopter fly in another direction. we heard boats. but when we were outside, you would go in the front yard and the backyard, and you would see one or the other, a helicopter lowering someon

michelle: lana zak begins abc7's team coverage now from houston. lana: president donald trump and first lady melania arrived in corpus christi to receive a briefing on the flood. >> this is of epic proportion. >> nobody has seen anything like this. >> many of the officials present told the president recovery is just beginning. >> recovery is a slow process. rest assured we are doing everything we can. >> in houston, epic rescue effort continues around the clock to save people trapped by rising floodwaters. this man stuck on top of his car waited for crews on a dinghy to take him to high ground. we saw shelters beyond capacity. >> we are not going to turn people away. >> emergency shelter in the convention center in downtown

lana, thank you. >>> in louisiana, as lana mentioned, is gearing up for harvey. >> a federal emergency has been declared in five southwestern parishes. all schools and government offices are closed today in new orleans where up to ten inches of rain is still in the forecast. >>> let's find out what tropical storm harvey is expected to do today. >> accuweather's paul williams has the latest on the forecast for us. paul, good morning. >> good morning, kendis, diane. we are expecting the heaviest of rainfall, not only hitting the houston area, moving to parishes of louisiana and of lafayette, over to we could see eight inches of rain in portions of louisiana and getting closer to the new orleans area. here's the reason why. harvey is going to slowly walk its along the eastern portions of texas and slide to the mississippi valley region. but that will have to take until saturday. kendis? diane? >>> we will get a look at other headlines, including breaking news that north korea has launched a missile over japan, prompting an urgent response. >>> maria sharapova returns to the u.s. open in s

backting live, abc news, to you. >> lana, thank you. abc 7 is closely monitoring harvey's next steps. breaking this down. >> good evening. our satelliteat of tropical storm harvey. wind right nowed of 65 miles per hour. so wind and rain, just going to batter the coastline, not only over the next 24 hours but into next week. these tracks, we see things kicking out quickly. that is not the case. we're definitely going to be measuring the rainfall in terms of feet. some places, upwards of about 30 or more before it's all sa harvey, coming up in just a bit, look at your extended forecast. kimberly, back to you. >> molly, thank you. happening now, the american red is mounting a massive relief effort. ourns of volunteers from area are already on the ground in texas. more on the way. ryan is live now in fairfax where emergency vehicles are getting ready to deploy. ryan? reporter: kimberly, those already setting up shelters. some have been there for days. more are on the way. the americanhome, red cross is activating its emergency response vehi

. >> let's start off with the lana zak live with the latest. lana? lana: >> good evening.he need is profound. the air and the water continue. >> the fourth largest city is under water. more rain to come. four felt of rain in some areas. this interstate is a river. this is hobby airport. before harvey and now. the army corps of engineers releasing the water from the dams filling up too fast. people down river were told to evacuate. the governor activating the national guard ordering 9,000 more troops to assist 3,000 on the ground. >> something fell off a night stand. i woke us up. >> shelters rapidly. >> people receiving cheer from batman and his son. >> the city needs a hero. we have to help the city. >> more continue to come. evacuees at hotels to find there are so more rooms. >> so much tried to take advantage and prayed on the homes and the businesses. one person asking for help. showing pictures of the looters unpunished. >> the people stream in here by the thousands. there were 4,000 people here. 5,000 is the capacity and they believe they will reach it tonight. jonat

. >> nbc's lana zak is in the thick of it. good morning, lana. >> reporter: thank you very much.hard not to be blown over. a band of punishing rains is launching an assault in houston. there is a tremendous need. the red cross is asking for all assistance in the city of houston. in the need of medical professionals, nurses, doctors, mental health professionals and social workers. the convention center is beyond capacity. expected to host 5,000 refugees, but that number was quickly exceeded. >> this is what katrina was like. >> reporter: thousands alived by busloads, even by dump truck. >> please proceed into the shelter. >> reporter: lorena was rescued with her four children. >> i'm trying to hold it together for them. >> reporter: she doesn't know how long they will be here. were you able to get a cot? >> we didn't. not net. >> reporter: there's an outpouring of generosity. but it is dwarfed by the need. >> we lost everything in our apartment. >> reporter: the water and air rescues continue. as millions of gallons of water are being released from reservoirs. >> there's a reality

lana tiene un secreto que revelar.ro kohls! kohls. ♪ ♪ kara estÁn viendo imágenes de este accidente desde ma auto que mato a la princesa diana. esta tragedia que sorprendiÓ al mundo. a dos dÉcadas después, las teorÍas de conspiraciÓn perduran. apuntan a todos. ayer, tuvimos a nuestro programa asu mayordomo. ella le confiesa que presentÍa que muy pronto morirÍa. precisamente, en un accidente automovilÍstico. muchas son las teorÍas . sin embargo, muchos creen que esto fue un accidente. quÉ opina usted? nos encantan que opine las redes sociales. aquÍ, tenemos muchas opiniones. cuÁl es su opiniÓn? >> este equipo cree que fue un accidente con un chofer que tenÍa antidepresivos. demasiado alcohol consumidos anoche. un auto que no estaba preparado. nadie tenÍa el cinturÓn de seguridad. >> tambiÉn, lo comentÓ el mayordomo. >> creo que se juntaron muchas cosas. >> Él decÍa que nunca salía tan tarde. Él dijo que estaba en el lugar equivocado, con la persona equivocada. quÉ hacÍa a medianoche? >> me impresionÓ mucho lo de la cart

lana: but the president's responsibility remains in the eyes of many. including a group of ral lies that announce that won't have a conference call with the president out of protest. they say he will "recognize and remedy" the great error he has made in abetting the voices of hatred. >> a member of the undercover c.i.a. wants to buy twitter and kick trump off of it. she says if twitter executives won't shut down trump's violence and hate it is up to us. she has about $20,000 and trying to get to $1 billion. larry: new poll finds 45% of people voting for president trump would rather have had president davis as presidents than barack this comes as the symbol of the confederacy come down across the country. in this is after a rally focused on the confederate general robert e. lee. now the effects are you -- are trickling down to people just named robert lee. lindsey: espn took robert lee off announcing u.v.a. football game. and people are outraged. they say by pulling him they created a category five meme hurricane. and if this society can't tell the diffe

abc's lana zak is there. lana, it looks like it's not letting up. what's the latest? really is not. good morning, kendis and diane. some parts of harris county have reported as much as three feet of rain. that is record-breaking, certainly. it's also all the more concerning when you realize that the water doesn't just stay stationary. in particular, it pools. and in particular, it's pooling in reservoirs, bayous, areas in houston gulf coast. and they're completely saturated. we saw that happening on the very first day of the tropical storm. so, as a result, today -- or, yesterday, rather, two of the reservoirs had to have planned releases of the waters there. that affected thousands of home with additional flooding. and that was the necessary precaution that officials needed to take to relieve some of the pressure from the dams because if those dams broke, we would be talk about even more circumstances. so, that's part of the reason why you have so many evacuees continue to pour in throughout the day, overnight. and these rescues just continue. people calling in sayin

abc news reporter lana zak has the latest from houston. >> reporter: good evening, dan and ama. there's been so much generosity here but the need is so great here in houston and elsewhere. officials and the red cross are calling for additional assistance. they ask for volunteers, particularly anybody with medical training. >> houston's george r. brown convention center is beyond capacity. originally planned to host 5,000 evacuees, that number was quickly exceeded but the red cross doesn't want to turn anyone away. >> honestly, this is what katrina was like. >> reporter: thousands of evacuees arrived by bus load and dump truck. for many, the only possessions are the damp clothes on their bodies, everything else is gone. >> please proceed into the shelter. >> reporter: lorena campos was lifted by chopper from rising floodwaters with her four children. >> i'm trying to hold it together for them. >> reporter: she doesn't know how long they will be here. >> i mean -- >> reporter: were you able to get a cot? >> we didn't, we haven't yet. >> reporter: there's been an out pouring of gen

lana zak, abc news, washington. >>> our thanks to lana there. and the president offered few details on how his approach would significantly different from his predecessor's. but his speech is getting positive reactions from some rps. >> the president is also facing plunging poll numbers specifically related to his handling of charlottesville, and his opening words still show that that's on his mind. ali, i want to start with this new war plan. is it new actually, and what's the general reaction? it sounds some positive. >> there's a saying the more things change the more they stay the same. that is a lot of the reaction from democrats and republicans there wasn't a whole lot the president said in tonight's speech that president obama also didn't say when he decided to put his mark on the afghanistan strategy, when he came into office in 2009. some of the reaction from republicans today, as you mentioned, there's just not that many specifics in this plan. so it's hard for democrats and republicans to comment, specifically, about what they thought

abc news reporter lana zak has the latest from houston. >> reporter: good evening, dan and ama. there's been so much generosity here but the need is so great here in houston and elsewhere. officials and the red cross are calling for additional assistance. they ask for volunteers, particularly anybody with medical training. >> houston's george r. brown convention center is beyond capacity. originally planned to host 5,000 evacuees, that number was quickly exceeded but the red cross doesn't want to turn anyone away. >> honestly, this is what katrina was like. >> reporter: thousands of evacuees arrived by bus load and dump truck. for many, the only possessions are the damp clothes on their bodies, everything else is gone. >> please proceed into the shelter. >> reporter: lorena campos was lifted by chopper from rising floodwaters with her four children. >> i'm trying to hold it together for them. >> reporter: she doesn't know how long they will be here. >> i mean -- >> reporter: were you able to get a cot? >> we didn't, we haven't yet. >> reporter: there's been an out pouring of gen

abc news reporter lana zack is live in the area with the very latest. lana? >> reporter: hello, as you can see. the rains continue to fall here in houston, just in harris county we now have an updated total. 1 trillion gallons of water. to put that all into perspective, that's enough to fuel niagara falls for 15 days. historic flooding has brought southeast texas to a standstill. president donald trump and the first lady had a touched down in corpus christi where they will see firsthand the devastation harvey left behind. >> there was of epic proportion, nobody has ever seen anything like this. >> reporter: just northeast rescuers are rescuing residents trying to stay above water. life-and-death moments playing out over hundred of square miles. they have saved more than 6,000 so far, but thousands more are still waiting to be rescued, and the flooding is only getting worse. >> i didn't even imagine that it was going to be this catastrophic like this. this is horrible. i have my 2-year-old. he told me he was scared. >> reporter: local dams are on the cusp of o

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

lana zak joins us live where the storm is headed. it is not just the flooding, people dealing with the threat of tornadoes. reporter: that is right. we have had reports of at least eight tornadoes touching down. many of them as houston. we have been issued an emergency flood warning in the houston area. they are concerned about those waters that continue to rise in the rivers and by use. kimberly: -- and bayous. ki like? reporter: the pouring rain has stopped for a second. five minutes ago, it was coming down in sheets. because the rain to come so weekly, the ground is saturated. we have heard the colorado river may actually reach a historic flood level. we understand other rivers are coming close as well. not a lot of rain, but a brief little break. thanks.: let's check in with molly. the sky lighting up behind her. molly: the amount of lightning is incredible. the tornado threat continues until 2:00 in the morning. a huge flood threat. this rain is going to continue into wednesday. it was downgraded from a hurricane. that doesn't m

abc7 news reporter lana zach is live there with the very latest on what's going on. lana? >> reporter: hi there, eric. yeah, freeways are now rivers and streams and people are waiting to be rescued. we know from the fire chief that there is at least a thousand people still in the que and they have already rescued thousands. now the problem becomes for so many people where do they go. >>> houston is trying to stay afloat with the nearly 500 billion gallons of water. sink holes opening up, tornadoes touching down. this lake was once a runway at houston's hobby airport. already there have been thousands of requests for rescue. >> mark your roof to be seen from the air. wave sheets, towels, anything to get our attention. >> reporter: the national weather service tweeting, this event is unprecedented and all impacts are unknown and beyond anything experienced. follow orders from officials to ensure safety. overnight, we saw the drainage systems overrun, spouting like fountains. and i want to show you this. look at the water, just rushing out of this manhole cover. the sils teys

lana zack, abc news, washington. >> there is a response on social media. john mccain tweeted white supremacists are not patriots, they are traitors. his fellow republican was critical of the president's response saying very important for the nation to hear potus describe events for what they are. a terror attack by white supremacists. hillary said every minute we allow this to persist through lack of action is a disgrace to our values. john dingle said i signed up to fight nazis and i will do it again if i have to. it has noplace in this country. demonstrators marched through oakland to support the anti-fascist protesters in virginia. a crowd of about 500 are winding through downtown with police watching. they blocked streets and it is otherwise peaceful. another protest is set for tomorrow. over in san francisco right now, authorities a vigil to support victims of the rally violence. we will stay on top of the demonstration. if you download the abc news app, you can receive alerts on your phone or tablet. two virginia state troopers died in a helicopter c

lana has more on that. >> rick, it is great to be with you to be the tonight.ouston is asking for professionals, red cross is asking for money, towels, blankets. the need out here and all of the region affected by tropical storm harvey is so profound. originally planned to host 5,000 evacuees, the number has been quickly exceeded. thousands of evacuees arrived by dump trucks. for many, their only clothes are the damp clothes on their bodies, everything else is gone. >> melissa was rescued from flood waters by a helicopter with her four children. >> i'm trying to keep it together for them. >> did you get a cot? >> not yet. >> we lost everything in our apartment. it's really unfortunate. >> the water and air rescues continue. millions of gallons of water are being released from area reservoirs. >> there is the reality that we have to come to grips with. we are just beginning the process of responding to the storm. >> 12,000 members of the national guard have been deployed to help the disaster. so often the rescuer is a person who decided to help. >> 911 won't hel

reporting life from houston, lana zach, abc7 news. >> lana thanks so much. it's going to be alarming at day break when you see the extent of the damage. nightline will have special coverage of hurricane harvey. that's at 12:37 right after jimmy kimmel live. >>> we have much more ahead on abc7 news at 11:00, in the mid microsoft of a hurricane, president trump issues a controversial pardon. >>> and the new time line just set to ban transgender troops from the who are these people? the energy conscious people among us say small actions can add up to something... humongous. a little thing here. a little thing there. starts to feel like a badge maybe millions can wear. who are all these caretakers, advocates too? turns out, it's californians it's me and it's you. don't stop now, it's easy to add to the routine. join energy upgrade california and do your thing. >>> the nation is focused on hurricane harvey. tonight president trump made a controversial move. >> pardoned former arizona sheriff joe arpaio. we have reaction from the sot bay. >> reporter: the chair of

. >> let's start off with the lana zak live with the latest. lana? lana: >> good evening.he need is profound. the air and the water

. >> it is expected to pound the coast for days, lana zack is on the ground as texas perhaps for the worst. >> reporter: hurrican harvey is ripping into the gulf coast making landfall early as residents of texas, mississippi and louisiana are riding out the worst of it. the monster storm visible from space, ten million people under watches and warnings. many under to evacuate. >> we want up to the and -- exo get milk they were boarded up. >> many were offered bulls to say san antonio. many in rock port were told to go or else. >> those who are going to stay, they should make some type of preparation to mark their arm with a sharpy pen and put their social security number on it and their name. >> reporter: texas has opened up enough shelters to house 41,000 evacuees. as storm surge is expected to reach up to 12 feet with massive flooding and widespread power outages. >> this storm is not going to play out overnight, when the power goes off, you can expect it to be off 3 to 7 days. >> reporter: also concerning folks in houston is the potential for the one-two punch. the massive floodin

lana: they are, but the shelters are past their -- their intended capacity. most evacuees, they were originally planning on taking and 5000 people. it will been streaming in by the hundreds. right before our eyes, we saw 3000 turn into 5000 turn into 9000. at last count there were more than 9000 people at the convention center in houston. they have been hoping to alleviate some of the pressure on the shelters by opening more, churches and mosques and other community centers. for a lot of people, they have lost everything. even after the flood water start they will not be able to go back home or pick up their lives where they left them thursday. it will be a long road ahead. nancy: thank you very much. jonathan: for the latest information on hurricane harvey, find out ways to help the steve: the high temperature today was 69 degrees at reagan national, making it the coolest august day around the dmv -- are 25 ready for this -- in years. we are slowly cooling, 64 manassas, 61 luray. the the windows now that rain has moved out. we have clear skies to the west, f

>> lana, thank you, and as you heard there, the president tries to blame the media for the reaction to charlottesville, defending that what he said could not have been a stronger condemnation of the hate group that sparked the violence. >> and our on cecelia vega to covers the white house shared video on her instagram of what it looked like from her perspective each time the president attacked the press. look at that young lady. i think she's saying we go for happy hour later? or maybe not. >> many saying journalists hate the country. cecelia's been through pretty much a war zone. she covered the complain and amt was pretty rough. >> did she say this was the most concer >> most concerned. and by this tone, she feels something bad will happen at some point if we continue this kind of rhetoric. we hope for the best there. >>> we're going to move on to a security threat in the dutch city of rotterdam caused police to cancel a concert by a group the allah laws. at t they thanked authorities for detecting the threat. >>> and it turns out some symptoms were far more serious than originally r

let's go to lana zach in houston. >> good evening. rescues continue in houston and communities affected by harvey throughout the gulf coast. for the first time they see a glimmer of hope as bayous and reservoirs are starting to decline. the sun peeked out of houston's sky. there have been nine confirmed deaths including houston police officer steve perez, drowning in flood waters, two days shy of his 61st birthday. >> it was too treacherous to look for him. >> the rescues totaling 13,000 and still they pour in. more than a thousand in houston are waiting for help. >> linda says she was stranded in her car with rising flood water for two days. >> all i can say is there are angels out here. help is pouring in by the truckload and there is still more need. >> it's gut wrenching. what can i do for my neighbors? >> we encourage people if they need shelter to come here to seek shelter. we may not have the amenities for them like a cot. those in new orleans are using sandbags on the 12th anniversary of katrina. >> it evoked memories and hear

reporting life from houston, lana zach, abc7 news. >> lana thanks so much. it's going to be alarming at day break when you see the extent of the damage. nightline will have special coverage of hurricane harvey. that's at 12:37 right after jimmy kimmel live. >>> we have much more ahead on abc7 news at 11:00, in the mid microsoft of a hurricane, president trump issues a controversial pardon. >>> and the new time line just set to ban transgender troops from the >>> the nation is focused on hurricane harvey. tonight president trump made a controversial move. >> pardoned former arizona sheriff joe arpaio. we have reaction from the sot bay. >> reporter: the chair of la raza round table in san jose said he was saddened that president trump pardoned former arizona sheriff joe arpaio. >> if it had been me i would have been behind bars a long time ago. >> reporter: he was convicted of disobeying a judge's order by continuing immigration patrols that included racial profiling. >> he is racist. and joe arpaio and a lot of congressmen they are as much as a racist as he.

lana zak joins us right now. lana: good afternoon. president trump is currently deciding whether or not to declare a state of emergency in advance of hurricane harvey making landfall. that is expected to happen in about se it is starting to get real. >> the winds are ripping and the rain is falling and the water is getting choppy. this is nothing what coastal residents will experience after hurricane harvey hits laterment to. >> we are dealing with human life. >> massive flooding, three feet of rain in some areas. storm surges that are projected to reach 12 feet. whyspread power out -- widespread power outages. >> the power could be off for three to seven days. >> evacuations are in effect. the measure heard over and over again don't risk it. >> the storm could change. they are not going to risk the rescue. >> tell drivers to prepare. >> in corpus christi the tiniest new residents relocated. they are tweeting praise for the support team evacuating the nicu there. >> in houston there are a lot of concrete. that plus the massive rainfal

lana zak is in houston with some of the evacuees. >> reporter: good evening. so much generosity here but the need is so great. here in houston and elsewhere, officials and the red cross are calling for additional assistance. they ask for volunteers particularly anybody with medical training. >> houston's george r. brown convention center is beyond capacity. originally planned to host 5,000 can haves that number was quickly exceeded but the red cross doesn't want to turn anyone away. >> this is what katrina was like. >> reporter: thousands arrived by bus load and dump truck. for many the only possessions the damp clothes on their bodies. everything else is gone. >> please proceed into the shelter. >> reporter: lorena campos was lifted from rising waters with her four children. >> i'm trying to hold it together for them. >> reporter: she doesn't know how long they will be here. >> have not gotten a cot. >> reporter: jenn ross ritity dwarfed by the need. >> bedon't have anything. it's just really unfortunate reporter. the water and air rescues continue. >> anybod

back to you rick. >> lana thank you. >>> north korea is vowing.ns gather in the street to see the response to new sanctions. the measures are the toughest ever passed by the united nations against them. the country promised to resip indicate a thousand fold for wait called america's "villanous actions against our country and people." secretary of state rex tillerson is in asia tonight pressing all parties and especially china to stick to the sanctions. >> well, the best signal that north korea could give us that they're prepared to talk would be to stop these missile launches. you know, we've not had an extended period of time where there have not -- they have not taken some type of provocative action by launching ballistic missiles. >> the un security council sanctions against north korea are expected to cost the regime nearly a billion dollars a year. still t-the rogue nation has signaled it will not back down. north korea's foreign minister says that under no circumstances will the country put its nuclear weapons or ballistic missiles on the ne

lana joins us. thank you for taking time to answer questions about what is going on down there.f all, how successful were the evacuation efforts? did people stay behind? >> in a lot of places, very successful. in rock port, only 60% of the residents heeded the warning to evacuate. 40% stayed. that town leveled by the wrath of hurricane harvey. we understand hundreds of people are homeless in that area alone. while evacuations are successful, we are facing more evacuations. richmond texas was issued a warning because of the risk of flooding. though it's a tropical storm, the situation is tense and precarious for people. >> jaw dropping. have the rainfall estimates changed or do some still face the prospect of two feet of rain? >> that's right. part of what also makes that really incredible is not just how many rain, but how sustained its supposed to be. we heard from officials moments ago. they were saying that this system, being it's sitting here continuing to pour its rain down on the effected area, the system will last four or five days. they are strapping in for the long haul

abc's lana zak joins us from houston. good morning, lana. >> reporter: hi, there, kendis and diane.d when we saw the sun peek out for the very first time. and just to give you some perspective of how much rain we've gotten here in harris county, more than a trillion gallons. that's the equivalent of 15 niagara falls. so you can imagine how elated people are here despite all the hardships that lie ahead for so many people at the first glimmer of hope, according to houston officials. they say they are for the first time since harvey hit, they are starting to see some of the reservoirs and bayous receding. for the first time since harvey roared into town, the sun peeked out of houston's sky for just a few minutes. it was a brief moment of hope after five days of record-breaking rain and devastation. there have been at least nine confirmed deaths, including houston police officer steve perez. he drowned in floodwaters two days shy of his 61st birthday. >> we couldn't find him. once our dock team got there it was too treacherous to go under and look for him. >> reporter: the official tal

we have the latest from lana zach in houston. >> good evening, rain hitting hard in houston.astation throughout the state and region. things continue to get worse. >> harvey has moved in on the gulf coast and the storm doesn't look like it's going anywhere soon. >> the storm is not over. it's stagnated. it's a slow-moving storm. please don't come back to the areas. >> the storm flattened texas, ripping roof roofs off of build, sinking boats and projectiles sliced through metal. the daylight revealing nearly all encompassing deaf station. many are now homeless. gathering in the elementary school. >> there are cots everywhere you look. >> the bulls eye of the storm in the path. >> everything went to hell in a hand basket. >> even after harvey was downgraded to a tropical storm, it continued its assaulted with eight tornadoes reported, two in louisiana and six in texas. all outside torrential rapes that could continue for days. >> we want to keep people out of rising water. >> the city of wharton under a voluntary evacuation order because of the risk of flooding. the colorado ri

lana zak, abc news, washington. >>> well, now to the eclipse. we waited 38 years for the great american eclipse and millions came out to watch the spectacle. abc news reporter maggie ruehle is in charleston, south carolina, the last state to see this celestial phenomenon. >> reporter: we were some of the last people in the u.s. to see the great american eclipse and the crowds here in charleston, well, we sent it off in style. >> the best part was when it kept getting smaller and smaller and smaller. >> reporter: the young and just born and the young at heart. >> i was trying to be part of this. i don't know if i'm going to have a chance to see it again. >> reporter: the canine and feline. after so much participation, the moon arrived right on schedule. >> appreciate that we're able to predict it and understand it to within fractions of a second. >> reporter: as totality sped across the u.s. at an average of 1800 miles an hour, americans from coast to coast ooed and ahed. >> i have goosebumps literally. i've never seen anything like it. >> the sp

lana zak in houston with the new information as president trump gets look at the devastation. >> president trump and first lady melania arrived in corpus christi to receive a briefing on >> this is of epic proportion. nobody has seen this. >> recovery is just beginning. >> recovery is a slow process. rest assured we are doing everything we can. >> the police chief announced the death of one of the officers who drowned while driving to work. >> it was too treacherous to go under and look for them. >> they are looking to save the people trapped by rising floodwaters. this man on top-his car waiting. we saw the shelters filled beyond capacity. >> the emergency shelter in downtown houston meant to help 5,000 people. it's now almost doubled that. beyond capacity at nearly 9,000 and growing. the mayor promised more shelters will open and has requested more cots. to make matters worse a pair of reservoir dams built houston overflowing the levees. adding to the rising floodwater. others are releasing at twice the normal rate. five consecutive days of rain set a record in the continental united sta

we sat down with lana: brown who tells us it's a close-knit group and a couple of them are a little crazy >> we r n.w.o. >> new world order? >> no. they named it. got to go along. we try to do things together get to know each other. the more you know each other outside of football, better you will know them on the field. robert: one day i will figure out what it stands for. now switch gears to scott abraham at the citi open with an update on tennis. what's up, scott? scott: hello, robert. i hope you are staying dry down there in richmond. i'm not very dry at the citi open. take a look at this. this is absolutely pouring at the rock creek park tennis center. the match is on a delay right now. they will be back in action as the rain goes away. there are plenty of big names here. including one looking forward to defending his title. >> i'm just thinking of getting another title. >> you have a tar get on your back. everybody wants to beat the champ. >> but i'm here to grab another title. >> he begins his tournament tomorrow. he is one of the favorites here at the citi open. there has not been

reporting from washington, lana zak channel6 "action news." >> and we'll have much more on the trump tensions with north korea. that's coming up on world news tonight with david muir right here on "action news." >> well, five days after a woman was run over and killed in center city, police have released a picture of the person of interest. this is the man right here and the vehicle they are looking for. anne broderick was crossing the 1300 block of race street sunday morning when that white jeep rubicon hit her and kept going. police say the vehicle was captured on surveillance cameras after the crash driving through the city. the jeep rubicon has a very distinct look. it has black fenders big tires and a white top. >> we did not recover any car parts on the scene. so, there might not be that much damage to the vehicle. there may be a dent in the vehicle from where the impact occurred. >> and here's one last look at the person of interest and the jeep involved in that deadly hit-and-run. if you recognize either, please call philadelphia police. >> surveillance video captured a robbe

reporting from houston, lana zach, abc news. reporter: roads are turning into rivers. the rising water chased thousands of people right to their roof top. we're tracking rain. ut molly, it will be nothing with what texas is dealing with. kimberly: a band of rainfall setting up shop in houston. so certainly more rain on the way for houston. by the time it's all said and done, an additional 15 to 25 inches on top of what they've received. heading into the gulf of mexico and taking a track back to houston before it kicks out of the texas region. devastating floods. meanwhile, we turn our attention to the eastern coastline. this little disturbance could become what's next on our list for naming systems in the atlantic. it would be tropical storm irma. we expect to get that name and take a track along the carolina coast. already have tropical storm watches in effect right now. we're talking details on what could be irma, a impact knelt the d.c. area. kimberly: the national weather service is calling harvey unprecedented and beyond anything experienced. another danger in the

reporting from houston, lana zak, abc news. >> lana, thank you. >>> president trump and first lady melania are set to travel to texas tomorrow. the administration has not yet released specific details about the trip but we are expected to hear from the president within the next half hour when he holds a joint news conference with the president of finland. >>> texas governor greg abbott praised the government's help so far and says he's looking forward to hosting the president. >> and what i would like to hear from him is his understanding of the magnitude of the damage that texas has faced because it's not just the houston area but also the corpus christi area where the hurricane first came across the shore of the state of texas. this is going to be a very long term project helping texas dig out. >> hurricane harvey is the first major natural disaster of the trump presidency. "action news" will bring you today's news conference just as soon as it gets under way. >> this storm is causing so much massive damage because it's essentially stuck in one place continuously swirling over the housto

reporting from houston, lana zak channel6 "action news." >> all right, lana thank you. >>> as the storm gets closer we are watching and waiting to see if the many oil refineries in the gulf will be damaged. now here in our area aaa midatlantic is keeping a very close eye on what happens there because it could affect our gas prices here. >> if production pipes were so heavily damaged that our region were to send gasoline to texas to help them recover, that would put the squeeze on our gasoline supply and then our prices may go up. >> something to keep in mind. gas prices are expected to jump up soon regardless of the hurricane. that's because we are close to the time when gas stations switch to the more expensive winter blend of gasoline. >>> now let's get the very latest on harvey from meteorologist melissa magee. >> she's in the weather center tracking the storm as it moves closer. >> hi, monica and brian. this is something we will be tracking as we head into the weekend and for the days to come. here's the very latest with hurricane harvey. as you mentioned it has been upgraded to a c