El Paso will not receive evacuees from Harvey devastated areas ‘at this time,’ City says

The Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) announced Friday El Paso will not be receiving any evacuees from Southeast Texas “at this time,” a news release sent by the City states.

El Paso Mayor Dee Margo thanked the community for its support. “I am thankful for their generosity and concern for their fellow Texans … we will continue to assist in any way we can,” Margo said.

The City continues to assist with emergency relief efforts in the wake of Hurricane Harvey’s devastating destruction and ensuing flooding.

According to the City, TDEM said “the situation seems to be calming down and there is plenty of room in the shelters that have been setup.”

The City will continue to track all costs related to personnel who have been deployed in order to receive reimbursement from the State, officials said.

Harvey dropped record rains on Texas, badly damaging or destroying more than 55,000 homes. More than 200,000 others homes were affected or sustained minor damage.

The U.S. Coast Guard says it has rescued at least 3,000 people from Harvey’s floodwaters in the past 48 hours.

Friday, approximately 1,000 people were flown to Dallas from a shelter in Beaumont, where residents have no drinking water due to widespread flooding.

The mayor of Houston is telling residents whose homes are still flooded in the western part of the city to evacuate, because reservoir releases will keep water flowing into their homes for 10 to 15 days.

Mayor Sylvester Turner made the voluntary evacuation announcement Friday, almost a week after Harvey started dumping up to 50 inches of rain in parts of the city. Officials have released water from reservoirs in an attempt to control flooding.

Houston estimates between 15,000 and 20,000 homes are in the area that will continue to flood.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS CONTRIBUTED TO THIS REPORT