Flooding brings Houston, Texas to a standstill, blamed for one death so far. Gov. Perry and Federal Emergency Management Agency director Joe Allbaugh are to meet at 2 p.m. CDT and will hold a news conference. In downtown Houston, many buildings were flooded and basement electrical transformers were knocked out. Many businesses and government buildings were closed Monday for cleanup as the mayor called for a day of recovery. Rivers and bayous overflowed after being pounded with as much as 28 inches of rain since Tuesday.
Many roads remain flooded, though most of Houston's freeways have reopened.
While most of the deaths were drownings, at least two of the Houston deaths were electrocutions, and the Louisiana death occurred when a tree fell on a car, crushing the occupant. The National Guard and U.S. Coast Guard continued rescue operations in the Houston area Sunday. President Bush and Perry have declared 28 counties in southeast Texas as a disaster area. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has set up a toll-free number for Texas flood victims to apply for disaster assistance. One-third of Louisiana hard hit In Louisiana, more than a third of the state's parishes were under state and local emergencies Monday as they dealt with the flooding and damage caused by the remnants of the tropical storm.