Rescue workers evacuating Port Arthur, Texas, nursing home
Rescue workers are evacuating a nursing home in Port Arthur, Texas, where 70 patients were trapped Wednesday from rising floodwaters from Harvey, CBS affiliate KFDM reports.
With some of the residents in wheelchairs, employees told KFDM earlier the situation on Wednesday was dire. Employees said they had enough water for now, but that food was scarce. Police arrived on scene at about 2:20 p.m.
"We need to get them out of here," an employee told KFDM. "They need healthcare. ... We don't have much food. We've got water but we need the right foods to feed them, and medication administration."
Harvey came ashore again early Wednesday, this time in southwestern Louisiana about 45 miles from Port Arthur. Since then, the city has been slammed by heavy rain and flooding.
According to KFDM, a shelter at the nearby Beaumont Civic Center was at capacity.
In nearby Orange, Texas, a retirement home was evacuated by airboat. Texas Health and Human Services spokeswoman said more than 2,800 residents of about 120 long-term care facilities in areas affected by Harvey had been evacuated by Tuesday.
At least 21 people have died since the devastating storm first made landfall near Port Aransas, Texas on Friday night. Harvey's five straight days of rain totaled close to 52 inches, the heaviest tropical downpour ever recorded in the continental U.S.
