Weeze, please don't take this the wrong way as I know it must really suck to possibly lose prized possessions etc, not to mention the hassle of clean-up, replacing things.

But you have your family, your dogs and you're all going to have one *hell* of a story to share and look back on. Keep your powder dry.

I have no doubt of that and have seen locals going all out to help. Problem now is...water getting higher..a lot more rain to come..and some people who have been stranded for more than 2 days in flood waters...hungry and thirsty and beginning to fear the worst can panic and do things normally at odds with their normal selves. I hope it does not get out of control. For the sake of all.

We are happy with our decision. We moved the irreplaceable stuff upstairs, and brought the passports etc with us. Everything is as prepped as it can for if it floods, and if it does it can all be sorted out.

It wasn't so much the worry of loosing things, the silly thing is I felt a little guilty for leaving. Anyway, I am being extremely well looked after. Bakewell tart has been consumed as has a glass of champagne. I think we may have been on the receiving end of the best rescue ever.

I can't imagine the mind games that go on when you get caught up in such a situation. Pleased you, SM and Choco are dry even if your homes aren't.

CNN are now reporting that Harvey is gathering strength.

Thank you to the Houston brain trust for the updates. I can probably speak for the whole forum when I say that we're checking this thread constantly and refreshing our screens for any new posts from you guys.

It's been worrying and concerning from the outside but I have to say that my spirits have been buoyed by the seeming efficiency of the coordinated rescues as well as the neighbors helping neighbors --- at least as it has been covered by the media.

I'm so sorry that you're all being subjected to this mother-****er of a storm. Keep us posted. Any news is welcome.

JG, I have a dear friend from Houston and she is sharing all the photos of her family/friends in Houston. It's horrifying, just horrifying.

Dams are being opened and flooding subdivisions. I got an emergency message from the french consulate in Houston (I'm on their list for some odd reason) saying urgent, look at this latest from some water board. It was a massive list of subdivisions that are going to be flooded by the water being released from the dams.

My heart breaks for all the people in Houston and along the coast. I volunteered with a relief organisation when there was flooding 2 years ago in San Marcos, and it's horrible what people will have to go back to. This is a nightmare that goes on.

Glad to hear that everyone has found a safe place to stay but sad to see the devastation happening in the Houston, La Grange and Bastrop area. Waiting to hear from friends who farm down that way. Hoping the disaster relief money is going to come in as Trump promises. On Saturday they reported 11 inches of rain but they were coping OK. Lots more rain since. Thankfully we only had some minor flooding and wind in our town.

Better than the dams bursting catastofphically. One of them, a few years back, was declared by the Army Corp of Engineers as in danger of catastrophic failure and to date I think nothing has been done to fix that.

Glad the Weezes, chocobabz and Sugarmooma are safe and dry.

It's difficult to find the words to be supportive without sounding trite - but it's headline news here in the UK too and all we can do from here is wish the rain away and hope that the waters recede soon. Your fellow citizens are showing the true American spirit under such trying circumstances and are doing a lot to remind us all what the country is all about.

^ Coldplay performed a new song for Houston at their gig in Miami last night.

First thought was - haven't they all suffered enough?

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We have family in the Beaumont/Port Arthur area, so keeping a close eye on them. Hoping the best for those living around the various Houston reservoirs that will inevitably overspill in the coming hours.

Overspilling has apparently started.

Entirely inadequate thought, but good luck all.

Yeah I just read that and came here to check in.

The words sound hollow but I'm thinking of everyone.

It's a lot of water.

Not good at all.