HOUSTON (AP) — Updates from Tropical Storm Harvey (all times local):
Updated 8:15 a.m.: An emergency management official east of Houston says the area bordering Louisiana is virtually isolated because primary roads are flooded and water levels are rising.
Marcus McLellan, spokesman for the Jefferson County emergency management office in Beaumont, said Wednesday that Interstate 10 is flooded, as are several highways and many secondary roads.
I-10 from Houston to New Orleans is one of the most heavily traveled roads in the country, normally carrying tens of thousands of vehicles each day.
McLellan says he’s stationed at the emergency operations center in downtown Beaumont and to leave the area he’d have to travel east on secondary roads toward Louisiana, which is receiving the brunt of Tropical Storm Harvey.
Beaumont Mayor Becky Ames on Wednesday told NBC’s Today show that every body of water around the city is overflowing and that the rain continues to fall.
Volunteers Brenda Tcoc, right, and Hugo Wilson help sort bags of donated clothes for victims of the flooding from Tropical Storm Harvey after a shelter opened at the Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas, Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2017.
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Shane Johnson removes items from a family home destroyed in the wake of Harvey, Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2017, in Rockport, Texas.
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Homes are flooded near the Addicks Reservoir as floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey rise Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2017, in Houston.
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People rest at the George R. Brown Convention Center that has been set up as a shelter for evacuees escaping the floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey in Houston on Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2017.
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People line up for food as others rest at the George R. Brown Convention Center that has been set up as a shelter for evacuees escaping the floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey in Houston, Texas, Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2017.
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Malachia Medrano, 2, sleeps at the George R. Brown Convention Center that has been set up as a shelter for evacuees escaping the floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey in Houston, Texas, Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2017.
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Updated 7 a.m.: A shelter near Houston for at least 100 displaced people has been overrun by Harvey floodwaters, forcing weary evacuees to retreat to bleacher seats.
Jefferson County sheriff’s deputy Marcus McLellan said Wednesday that the Bowers Civic Center in Port Arthur was inundated overnight due to overwhelming rainfall and a nearby overflowing canal.
Cots and belongings have been abandoned on the civic center floor, which is under about a foot (30 centimeters) of water.
McLellan says it’s not clear where the evacuees will go. Some have been at the civic center since Monday.
He says he’s not sure if a Salvation Army shelter in Beaumont has space, and the Beaumont Civic Center can hold 600 people but it’s already at capacity. Beaumont is just northwest of Port Arthur.
Water is released from Lake Conroe Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2017, in Conroe, Texas.
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Homes are surrounded by floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2017, in Spring, Texas.
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Homes are surrounded by floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2017, in Spring, Texas.
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Interstate 69 is covered by floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2017, in Humble, Texas.
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Homes are surrounded by floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2017, in Humble, Texas.
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The Houston Ship Channel is shown Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2017, in Deer Park, Texas.
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A burned out home is surrounded by floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey on Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2017, in Spring, Texas.
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A burned out home is surrounded by floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey, Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2017, in Spring, Texas.
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Homes are surrounded by floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2017, in Spring, Texas.
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Businesses are surrounded by floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey, Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2017, in Humble, Texas.
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Interstate 69 is covered by floodwaters at the San Jacinto River bridge as floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey caused the river to overflow Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2017, in Humble, Texas.
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Homes are surrounded by floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2017, in Houston.
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Interstate 10 is closed due to floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2017, in Houston.
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A home is surrounded by floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey on Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2017, in Houston.
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The ExxonMobil Spring Campus is shown Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2017, in Spring, Texas.
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