Houston residents pour into shelters as rain continues

As a devastating flood spawned by Tropical Storm Harvey inundated the Houston area in the southern U.S. state of Texas, residents have had to scramble to seek shelter and stay safe. The loss of property or its damage are beyond their immediate concerns.

A shelter in Sugar Land, about 30 km southwest of Houston city, was opened Monday afternoon as more and more houses were flooded and people were looking for dry places to stay.

Constellation Field, originally a baseball park, has also been transformed into a shelter. The first floor of the stadium is completely opened to the flood-strickened, along with the cafeteria area on the upper floor.

Only a few hours after its opening, hundreds of people poured in with their family members, neighbors and pets. Some of them managed to bring some personal belongings with them while others only brought their wet clothes.

"You can see people in tears when they came," Hilton Goldstein, a volunteer in the shelter told Xinhua. "They lost their home and their cars. It's very emotional."

Rain continues pouring down as people trying to settle down in shelters. Gusts of wind blow, and those with wet clothes shiver in the rain, which will extend its spell on Tuesday in the Houston area.

According to Goldstein, most people come to the shelter on a voluntary basis. But others were brought here after being evacuated from as far away as 100 km away in Bay City, which was struck hard by the hurricane.

"I saw 30 people sent here by a trash vehicle from Bay City. Everything must be destroyed there," she said.

Goldstein, whose neighborhood has been completely flooded, has no other choice but to stay overnight in the stadium.

"My neighbor sent me a photo, telling me not to think of going home now," she said. "I've lived here for 10 years and never seen like this before. The country has never seen this before."

Unlike other shelters opened by the Red Cross, Constellation Field is completely organized by volunteers. Fortunately, basic supplies including water, food and clothes have been donated to the shelter by local residents as well as grocery stores.

"There must be over 100 people coming with food, water, dry clothes and blankets. They also brought pet food and diapers," Goldstein said. "People are helping each other to go through this."

In Galveston, 75 km away from Houston, people were evacuated by plane Monday to northern Texas.

Thirty two-year-old Shaunna White can still feel the chill of the water that gushed into her home, saying water come through the walls and under her door.

"We started picking up things and unplugging things, and within 30 minutes it was up to our ankles and 30 minutes later we were knee deep in water," White said. "Deep freezers started tilting over and beds started moving."

When White's brother opened the door to look outside, a torrent of floodwater rushed in and inundated their home.

"We didn't know how we were going to get out of there," she said. "Some of the kids can't swim. It was a little scary to see the water that high. I've never seen a situation like that before. I've lost everything."

Several neighbors arrived with air mattresses and helped the family to higher ground. They stayed at a shelter shortly before a U.S. Air Force C-130 flew them to northern Texas.

"We have our health and we are safe," White said before boarding the aircraft. "All we were worried about was, let's not get separated. We are all together now and that's all that matters."

(Robert Stanton also contributed to the story)