BEAUMONT, Texas (AP) – The widespread damage caused by one of the wettest tropical cyclones in the history of the United States of America appeared on Saturday as floodwaters have pulled out to reveal the grueling cleaning efforts that await many communities and homeowners.
Hundreds of homes and other buildings in the region, extending east from Houston and crossing the border with Louisiana, were damaged by Imelda, as the tropical storm slowly crossed the area, spilling more than 40 centimeters of rain in the area. some spots and be accused of at least five deaths.
Officials from Harris County, where Houston resides, have tried to determine whether millions of dollars in uninsured losses are enough to trigger a federal catastrophe declaration, said Saturday Sos, spokesman for the emergency management office of the USSR. county.
Authorities raised the number of storm victims to five, claiming that it killed a 52-year-old Florida resident who was found dead Thursday in his failed van along Interstate 10 near Beaumont, near the border between Texas and Louisiana. Jefferson County spokeswoman Allison Getz said that although the floodwaters have leaked into Mark Dukaj's truck, investigators do not believe that he drowned, although They believe that his death is related to the storm. An autopsy will determine the cause.
A section of the road just east of Houston remained closed Saturday after at least two fleeing barges struck two bridges carrying traffic east and west. Nearly 123,000 vehicles normally cross bridges every day, according to the Texas Department of Transportation. The Coast Guard said witnesses had announced Friday morning that nine barges were off their moorings in a shipyard.
13PICTURES
Floods in the Midwest
See gallery
Gabe Schmidt, owner of Liquid Trucking, on the far right, travels by air boat with Glenn Wyles on the top left, Mitch Snyder on the bottom right and Juan Jacobo on the bottom left, while they're investigating Platte River floodwater damage in Plattsmouth, Neb., Sunday, March 17, 2019. Hundreds of people remained out of their homes in Nebraska, but the rivers began to retreat. The National Meteorological Service stated that the Elkhorn River remained at the stage of major floods but was declining. (AP Photo / Nati Harnik)
An orange windsock is seen at Offutt Air Force Base in Bellevue, Neb., Site of the flooded base runway on Sunday, March 17, 2019. The rising waters of the Missouri River flooded approximately one third of the base, including approximately 3,000 feet of 11,700 feet of base. (AP Photo / Nati Harnik)
A BNSF train sits in the floodwaters of the Platte River in Plattsmouth, Neb., On Sunday, March 17, 2019. Hundreds of people remained out of their homes in Nebraska, but rivers were beginning to retreat. The National Meteorological Service stated that the Elkhorn River remained at the stage of major floods but was declining. (AP Photo / Nati Harnik)
Gabe Schmidt, owner of Liquid Trucking, right, speaks to Glenn Wyles, second from right, as he examines the damage caused by overflights caused by the waters of the Platte River in Plattsmouth, Neb., Sunday, March 17 2019. Hundreds of people stayed out of their homes in Nebraska, but the rivers began to retreat. The National Meteorological Service stated that the Elkhorn River remained at the stage of major floods but was declining. (AP Photo / Nati Harnik)
Gabe Schmidt, owner of Liquid Trucking, top right, air boat trip with Glenn Wyles, top left, Mitch Snyder bottom left and Juan Jacobo bottom right, while they investigate the damage caused by the floodwaters of the Platte River, at Plattsmouth, Neb., Sunday, March 17, 2019. Hundreds of people remained out of their homes in Nebraska, but the rivers began to retreat. The National Meteorological Service stated that the Elkhorn River remained at the stage of major floods but was declining. (AP Photo / Nati Harnik)
Vice President Mike Pence and Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, second from the right, pointing to the flooded areas, with Neo-German Governor Pete Ricketts, left, during a helicopter flight over areas affected by Missouri and Elkhorn River floods on Tuesday, March 19th. 2019 in Nebraska. Mr. Pence visited Tuesday in Omaha, Neb., To witness the damage and offer support to first responders, volunteers and people displaced by the floods. (AP Photo / Nati Harnik)
Vice President Mike Pence, in the center, flies over helicopter areas flooded by the Missouri and Elkhorn Rivers, with Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, right, and Nova Scotia Governor, Pete Ricketts, on the left, Tuesday 19 March 2019. (AP Photo / Nati Harnik)
This Tuesday, March 19, 2019, an aerial photo shows the floods along the Missouri River in Pacific Junction, Iowa. The US Army Corps of Engineers said the rivers had punctured at least a dozen dikes in Nebraska, Iowa and Missouri. Hundreds of homes are damaged and tens of thousands of acres are flooded with water. (DroneBase via AP)
Akashi Haynes, left, and his daughter, Tabitha Viers, are transporting their saved belongings from their flooded home in Fremont, Neb., On Monday, March 18, 2019. Authorities say the Floods caused by the Platte and D & # 39; Other waterways are so severe that only one lane Fremont remains uncovered and access to this road is severely restricted. (AP Photo / Nati Harnik)
A BNSF train sits in the floodwaters of the Platte River in Plattsmouth, Neb., On Sunday, March 17, 2019. Hundreds of people remained out of their homes in Nebraska, but rivers were beginning to retreat. The National Meteorological Service stated that the Elkhorn River remained at the stage of major floods but was declining. (AP Photo / Nati Harnik)
Cars block the waters of the Platte River near a BNSF train, at Plattsmouth, Neb., On Sunday, March 17, 2019. Hundreds of people have remained out of their homes in Nebraska, but the rivers are starting to remove. The National Meteorological Service stated that the Elkhorn River remained at the stage of major floods but was declining. (AP Photo / Nati Harnik)
Flooded caravans, washed away by the floodwaters of the Platte River, are visible in the Merritt Caravan Park at Plattsmouth, Neb., On Sunday, March 17, 2019. Hundreds of people have remained out of their homes in Nebraska, but the rivers began to recede. The National Meteorological Service stated that the Elkhorn River remained at the stage of major floods but was declining. (AP Photo / Nati Harnik)
RETRANSMISSION TO CORRECT NAME – Tom Wilke, in the center, his son Chad, on the right, and Nick Kenny, board a boat in the swollen waters of the north fork of the Elkhorn River after inspecting the flooded Witke property in Norfolk, Neb., Friday, March 15, 2019. Heavy rains fell on deeply frozen ground and resulted in evacuations along the flooded rivers of Wisconsin, Nebraska and other Midwestern states. Thousands of people have been invited to evacuate along eastern Nebraska, a massive late winter storm having pushed torrents and rivers off their shores in the Midwest. (AP Photo / Nati Harnik)
HIDE CAPTION
SHOW CAPTION
Two barges are still lodged against the bridges, said Emily Black, a spokeswoman for the state's transportation department.
"The current is really strong at the moment, so it's kind of pushed against the columns," she said.
The inspectors hope that the waters will retreat and that the current will slow down enough for the barges to be removed this weekend, to allow a better assessment of the damage to the bridges.
More than Aol.com:
Dorian floodwaters imprison people in granaries in North Carolina
A weakened Dorian screams over the Outer Banks in North Carolina
Hurricane Dorian runs along the American coast of the Carolinas with high winds and driving rain
