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HOUSTON (AP) – As Tropical Storm Harvey spreads President Trump has declared five parishes in southwest Louisiana a disaster area after receiving a request from Gov. John Bel Edwards, who said he sent a letter to the White House and could add more areas to the request later.
Edwards said life-saving efforts such as search and rescue and shelters will be needed, especially in southwest Louisiana where forecasters say 10 to 20 inches of rain could fall.
Harvey came ashore late Friday about 30 miles northeast of Corpus Christi, Texas, as a Category 4 storm. The slow-moving storm has caused catastrophic flooding in Texas.
The director of the National Weather Service is warning that the catastrophic flooding that’s overwhelming Houston and other parts of Texas will worsen in the coming days and then be slow to recede once Harvey finally moves on.
Director Louis Uccellini said during a news conference Monday that up to 20 inches (51 centimeters) of rain could fall in the coming days, on top of the more than 30 inches (76 centimeters) some places have already seen.
He says some of the heaviest rainfall today, at a pace of 6 inches (15 centimeters) an hour, will fall east of Houston in places such as Beaumont and Lake Charles, Louisiana.
He adds that while Houston is experiencing a break from the rain Monday morning, heavy rainfall is forecast to return later in the day into Tuesday.