US Army Corps to Release Water From Dams Near Houston, Texas Amid Flooding Risk

Amid Hurricane Harvey, the US Army Corps of Engineers is starting to release water from two dams near Houston, Texas, amid the risk of further flooding.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The US Army Corps of Engineers Galveston District said Monday they are beginning to release water from the Addicks and Barker dams near Houston, Texas, due to the recent dramatic increase in water levels and subsequent risk of further flooding in the city.

"The Corps will start releasing around 800 cubic feet per second from each reservoir for a total of 1,600 c.f.s. [cubic feet per second]. Within the next 6 to 10 hours we will be releasing 4,000 c.f.s. from both reservoirs, for a combined total of 8,000 c.f.s.," the Corps said in a press release read.

Please pray for our Texas friends. Flooding will continue to be catastrophic. Lift them in your prayers. 🙏🏽 #TexasFlood #HurricaneHarvey pic.twitter.com/Hp9WD2nu70

— Saltwater❤️🅿️ 🇺🇸 (@TrumpGirlStrong) 27 августа 2017 г.

Commenting on the move, Galveston District commander Col. Lars Zetterstrom said that residents close to the reservoirs should stay vigilant as water levels were rising rapidly.

league city, texas during the flooding pic.twitter.com/juRWNy53PZ

— jacob lightfoot (@jmlightfoot10) 27 августа 2017 г.

"If we don’t begin releasing now, the volume of uncontrolled water around the dams will be higher and have a greater impact on the surrounding communities," Zetterstrom is quoted as saying in the press release.

Good grief. Just look at the scale of the flooding in Houston, Texas, caused by Hurricane Harvey.
Via @NBCNews pic.twitter.com/YS9TKPhchZ

— James Melville (@JamesMelville) 28 августа 2017 г.

Following water release from another dam in the area, the Lake Conroe dam, the Conroe city authorities recommended residents in six neighborhoods consider evacuating.

On Sunday, the officials called a mandatory evacuation for the residents of the McDade Estates neighborhood, which remains the only case of a mandatory evacuation in Conroe for now.

The US Gulf Coast has been battered by Hurricane Harvey since Saturday. On Sunday, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Harvey continued to pose a deadly threat despite its gradual weakening, with media reporting about the death of three people in Aransas County. Local authorities of Houston and Rockport have reportedly confirmed the two deaths.

Harvey was downgraded from a hurricane to tropical storm by the NHC late on Saturday. Harvey is the largest storm to hit the United States since the destructive Hurricane Katrina in 2005.