Mr. Perez’s wife and father-in-law had urged him not to go to work that day, Chief Acevedo said. “His response was, ‘I’ve got work to do.’” Mr. Perez, who worked in the department’s division of traffic enforcement, was a “sweet, gentle public servant,” the chief added. 
 
 Outside Houston’s main shelter, lines formed. 
 
 As rain fell in the early afternoon, scores of people waited outside the George R. Brown Convention Center, where more than 9,000 people had already taken shelter. A pile of wet American Red Cross blankets sat near the end of one line. 
 
 On Sunday and Monday, evacuees were able to enter the sprawling complex without delay. Buy by Tuesday, while the convention center appeared to be organized, there were some signs of strain. Some people set up bedding in the main corridor, an area that had been mostly empty a day earlier, to get away from the increasingly crowded main dormitory. 
 
 Nathan Malbrue, who was sitting on the edge of an inflatable mattress, said he was not bothered by the growing crowd. He said he was in the hallway, near a medical station, because of a heart condition. “Just bring everybody in,” he said. “This is a big building.” 
 
 But Cora Watson, 58, feared that the convention center would be overwhelmed. “Move them to hotels or something,” she said, her voice barely audible. 
 
 Reservoirs are above capacity in Houston. 
 
 Water began flowing over an emergency spillway at a major Houston flood-control reservoir on Tuesday, the Army Corps of Engineers said, adding to flooding in the area about 15 miles west of downtown. 
 
 So far the overflow at the Addicks reservoir dam is minor, about 100 cubic feet per second, Edmond Russo Jr., deputy district engineer for the Army Corps’ Galveston district, said at a news conference. But it should rise to about 4,500 cubic feet per second — about 120 million gallons per hour — by Thursday, he said, as the reservoir levels peak. 
 
 The rate should decline to current levels two days after that, he said. But the large flow could bring up to 2 feet of water to the streets east of the reservoir. The water will eventually flow into Buffalo Bayou, which passes through downtown. 
 
 Dr. Russo said that dam safety operators were monitoring the structure and that it was in no danger. 
 
 Levels at a second reservoir nearby, Barker, are increasing as well and its two spillways are expected to overflow starting Saturday, he said. 
 
 Water in the two reservoirs, which are normally dry, has risen quickly since Harvey first began inundating the area. Efforts to reduce the levels by controlled releases through gates in both dams have not been sufficient. 
 
 In addition to the flooding over the spillway, both reservoirs have been spreading into nearby subdivisions as the water has risen. A spokesman for the Harris County Flood Control District said that about 2,500 homes near Addicks reservoir, and 670 near Barker, have flooded already. 
 
 The city also has to worry about having enough potable water. Houston’s Northeast Water Purification Plant, one of three plants that supply water to the city, is flooded. While the system is still working, even with much of its equipment underwater, city officials are worried about their ability to keep it running. 
 
 A levee breach threatened a village near Houston. 
 
 A levee designed to protect the community of Columbia Lakes, 40 miles southwest of Houston, from the Brazos River was breached, Brazoria County officials said. 
 
 Columbia Lakes is a small resort village with a country club and golf course, and is surrounded by levees. Residents were ordered to “GET OUT NOW!!” according to a Twitter message, although many had already left after a mandatory evacuation order was issued Sunday. ||||| Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Days of destruction: The story so far 
 
 Two major dams outside Houston have begun overflowing as Storm Harvey pushes reservoirs past capacity. 
 
 Flood control official Jeff Lindner said nearby communities could face further flooding as a result. 
 
 President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump are in Texas to see the devastation caused by Hurricane Harvey, now downgraded to a tropical storm. 
 
 Record rainfall has caused huge floods and is starting to affect Louisiana. 
 
 Thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes in the Houston area while rescuers are trying to reach others that remain stranded. 
 
 At least nine people are reported to have died, including six members of the same family whose van was swept away by rising floodwater, and a man in his 60s who apparently drowned while trying to swim to safety. 
 
 Engineers have been releasing water to try to ease pressure on the Addicks and Barker dams, which control the amount of water in the Buffalo Bayou - the main river into Houston. 
 
 But the water level in the Addicks reservoir west of Houston exceeded 108ft (32.9m) on Tuesday, data shows, causing it to flow over the top of defences. 
 
 Meanwhile flood gauges on the Barker dam have themselves been put out of action by the deluge. 
 
 Image copyright Reuters Image caption President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump touched down in Texas on Tuesday and headed to a briefing on the storm 
 
 Officials said the overspill could cause further flooding in areas close to the Buffalo Bayou, but the exact impact was unknown. 
 
 "This is something we've never faced before, so we're trying our best to wrap around what exactly this water is going to do," said Jeff Lindner, meteorologist with the Harris County Flood Control District. 
 
 Meanwhile, officials in Brazoria County, south of Houston, said a levee at Columbia Lakes had been breached, tweeting: "Get out now!" 
 
 Harvey was the most powerful hurricane to hit Texas in more than 50 years when it made landfall on Friday near Corpus Christi, 220 miles (354km) south-west of Houston. 
 
 The slow-moving storm - currently over the Gulf of Mexico - is expected to continue dumping huge amounts of rain in the coming days over already flood-hit areas. 
 
 Forecasts suggest that some areas in and around Houston could see up to 12in (30cm) of further rain on Tuesday. 
 
 One neighbourhood in south Houston has seen the heaviest total rainfall from a tropical storm in the US since records began in the 1950s, the National Weather Service says. 
 
 A total of 49.2in has fallen at Mary's Creek at Winding Road, beating the previous record of 48in. 
 
 Harvey is expected to make landfall again on Wednesday morning, probably in south-western Louisiana. 
 
 Residents of the city of New Orleans, which marked the 12th anniversary of devastating Hurricane Katrina on Tuesday, are bracing for heavy rain and flash floods over the next two days. 
 
 Are you affected by Tropical Storm Harvey? Let us know about your experiences. Email haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk with your stories. 
 
 Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also contact us in the following ways: ||||| An already-swollen reservoir west of downtown Houston overtopped its spillway Tuesday, sending an "uncontrolled release" of Harvey's floodwaters into nearby neighborhoods that may be underwater for "weeks," as a separate levee breach south of the city prompted an urgent warning for residents to leave immediately. 
 
 Floodwaters in the the Addicks Reservoir, located about 19 miles west of downtown, went over the top of the 108-foot spillway for the first time in history, threatening immediate surrounding subdivisions. 
 
 Jeff Lindner, a meteorologist with the Harris County (Texas) Flood Control District, said it was "something we've never seen before” at a news conference. 
 
 "This is not going to happen fast, this is a slow rise," Lindner told reporters, adding the flow of water going over the reservoir into neighborhoods will increase as the levels in the reservoir behind continue to rise. 
 
 Hours after the Addicks Reservoir was overtopped, officials in Brazoria County, located south of Houston, warned that a levee at Columbia Lakes had been breached by floodwaters and urged any residents who had not already evacuated the area to leave immediately, writing "GET OUT NOW!!" 
 
 The new strains on infrastructure come as the National Weather Service announced a new record for total rainfall from a tropical system in Texas, with 49.32 inches of rain observed at a location southeast of Houston. Lindner said bridges, roadways and other structures are beginning to fail Tuesday afternoon in some parts of Houston due to excess water. 
 
 The level of water in Addicks Reservoir and neighboring Barker reservoir in Houston is so high the flood gages are broken or almost broke, according to Lindner, who added the flood control agency is working quickly to repair them and has law enforcement on scene to provide readings. 
 
 Edmond Russo with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said spillways on both reservoirs are designed and maintained for overflows and "can withstand them," and will not be further compromised. 
 
 The spillway for the Barker Reservoir is expected to overflow by Friday, according to Russo. 
 
 The subdivisions surrounding Addicks and Barker reservoirs will experience flooding for the next "four to five weeks" and last "until October," according to Lindner. 
 
 "The biggest challenge we face right now is to determine how the flow interacts with the system, and how the water will go as it comes out of the spillway," he said. 
 
 Lindner said the agency believes the additional water will flow towards the Sam Houston Tollway, then south to the area around Interstate 10, known as the Katy Freeway and, eventually, Buffalo Bayou, which leads to downtown Houston. 
 
 County officials said they are monitoring six neighborhoods around the reservoirs, and encouraged residents in those areas to evacuate before the water levels rise. 
 
 "Once the water comes into the street you aren't going to be able to leave," Lindner said. 
 
 Lindner earlier told Fox News the spillover will cause "serious flooding in immediate areas," starting as a trickle, then becoming an uncontrolled release of water. Second-story homes also will be at risk, he added. 
 
 Lindner said this does not mean that downtown Houston will necessarily be greatly impacted, but officials don't fully know what will happen because they've never faced this situation before. 
 
 The meteorologist described the situation to Fox News as "uncharted territory" for the city. 
 
 FAMILY OF SIX COUNTED AMONG THE DEAD AS HARVEY DEATH TOLL RISES TO 14 
 
 The Army Corps started releasing water Monday at the Addicks and Barker reservoirs because water levels were climbing at a rate of more than 6 inches per hour, Corps spokesman Jay Townsend said. The water being released by officials is not keeping up with the water that is coming into the reservoirs, according to Lindner. 
 
 The move was supposed to help shield the business district from floodwaters, but it also risked flooding thousands more homes in nearby subdivisions. 
 
 The two resevoirs were built after devastating floods in 1929 and 1935, and were designed to hold water until it can be released downstream at a controlled rate. 
 
 In Houston's southwestern suburbs, officials in Fort Bend County, Texas, warned Tuesday the Brazos River is projected to crest at 59 feet, FOX 26 Houston reported. 
 
 The Fort Bend County Office of Emergency Management issued a new advisory Tuesday warning subdivisions where residents should prepare to be affected by the floodwaters. 
 
 With nearly two more feet of rain expected on top of the 30-plus inches in some places, authorities worried the worst might be yet to come from Harvey. As of Tuesday, at least 14 people have died in the historic storm, including a family of six trying to escape the floodwaters, authorities said. 
 
 "We know in these kind of events that, sadly, the death toll goes up historically," Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo told the AP. "I'm really worried about how many bodies we're going to find." 
 
 HOUSTON COMBATING HARVEY LOOTERS WITH MANDATORY JAIL TIME 
 
 The storm is generating an amount of rain that would normally be seen only once in more than 1,000 years, said Edmond Russo, a deputy district engineer for the Army Corps of Engineers. 
 
 Fox News' Griff Jenkins and the Associated Press contributed to this report. ||||| The situation in Houston remains dire, as dams begin overflowing with rains that have already wrought catastrophic damage and swept away thousands of homes, leaving the city’s residents trapped with limited recourse for shelter and no hope for evacuation. Fortunately, a brave journalist like ABC World News Tonight anchor Tom Llamas is entrenched right there on the scene, bearing witness to the many desperate people who are reduced to stealing food from supermarkets, and ensuring their stories get told directly to the cops. 
 
 Llamas, who has previously won awards for his coverage of Hurricanes Sandy and Irene, is clearly no stranger to the devastation they can cause or the frenzy they can set off in those who are just struggling to survive within them. But then, he’s also not about to let some people just make off with bread or whatever before it can become waterlogged garbage—not without making a purchase. So when Llamas tweeted he was “witnessing looting right now at a large supermarket in the NE part of Houston,” adding that police were on the scene after having “just discovered a body nearby,” he did his civic duty and immediately informed the police of another dying thing that needed their attention: the public’s respect for corporate property. 
 
 “We informed police of the looting and Coast Guard is flying overhead,” Llamas brayed proudly. “Multiple officers now on the scene.” 
 
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 Still, not everyone appreciated Llamas moving so swiftly to rescue a corporation from not having an accurate inventory for future insurance claims. 
 
 In fact, some people have reminded Llamas that the Society of Professional Journalists calls for reporters to “show compassion for those who may be affected adversely by news coverage”—or just regular human compassion. Others have pointed out that Llamas was openly admitting to diverting first responder resources, which might otherwise be used for rescuing people stranded in their homes, to making sure no one takes soon-to-be-rotting food. Some have suggested that, in the wake of local authorities declaring that anyone caught looting will face mandatory jail time, disaster victims who are forced to undertake extreme measures to secure survival supplies were essentially being sentenced thanks to nothing more than his own moral grandstanding. 
 
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 After the backlash, Llamas attempted to “clear this up”—deleting his original tweet, and clarifying that some of the people who had entered the supermarket to steal food amid the worst natural disaster to ever hit Texas had their “faces covered,” presumably to avoid identification by the media and police. 
 
 In light of Llamas’ clarification, some have also recommended Tom Llamas wade right into that supermarket, find the largest extant pineapple, and go fuck himself with it—but only after paying for it. 
 
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 Anyway, be sure to follow Tom Llamas for more hard-hitting investigative stories about people fighting for their lives and where the police can arrest them. 
 
 
 
 ||||| Texas residents are reporting hundreds of complaints about price gouging for basic goods like bottled water in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, according to the state’s attorney general. 
 
 A spokeswoman for Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) told The Hill the office has received at least 600 reports of price gouging, or intentionally spiking the price of goods, and frauds. 
 
 "As of our last tally this morning, we have 600 complaints pertaining to Hurricane Harvey (including scams, fraud, price gouging and charities), and that number is still rising," wrote spokeswoman Kayleigh Lovvorn in an email. "The majority of these complaints involve price gouging for bottled water, fuel, groceries and shelter." 
 
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 Lovvorn said those reports include several gas stations allegedly charging $3.50 a gallon, and in one extreme case $20 dollars for a gallon. Paxton's office is sending Civil Investigative Demands (CIDs) to the accused businesses. 
 
 "That last example was reported yesterday afternoon and a CID was prepared that same evening," Lovvorn explained. 
 
 In another case, Lovvorn said, involved a business allegedly selling cases of bottled water for $99. A photograph from one Houston resident that has been retweeted widely shows cases of bottled water being sold for $43 at an area Best Buy. 
 
 One Houston resident sent me a pic of water he saw being sold for *$42* at a nearby Best Buy. They were kind enough to offer $29 bottles too pic.twitter.com/8dKz3sJJM1 — ken klippenstein (@kenklippenstein) August 29, 2017 
 
 In a statement to The Hill, a Best Buy spokesman called the pricing “a big mistake” made by a few workers. 
 
 “This was a big mistake on the part of a few employees at one store on Friday. As a company we are focused on helping, not hurting affected people. We’re sorry and it won’t happen again,” the spokesman said. 
 
 “Not as an excuse but as an explanation, we don’t typically sell cases of water. The mistake was made when employees priced a case of water using the single-bottle price for each bottle in the case.” 
 
 Speaking on Fox News on Saturday, Paxton said that the consequences for price gouging are heavy. 
 
 "If you gouge somebody that's over 65, the cost is up to $250,000," Paxton said Saturday. "So there's some severe penalties, and we're looking for them, and we'll be coming after them." 
 
 Paxton's office is encouraging Texas residents to report price gouging and other scams by emailing consumeremergency@oag.texas.gov or by calling (800) 621-0508. 
 
 —Updated at 4:16 p.m. ||||| CLOSE Federal and local agencies say they have rescued more than 13,000 people in the Houston area as well as in surrounding cities and counties in Southeast Texas since Tropical Storm Harvey inundated the area with torrential rain. At least 18 deaths are confirmed. (Aug. 30) AP 
 
 Volunteer search and rescuers from Passion Pursuit film production company launch their motor boat near Bray Bayou and Loop 610 to rescue flood victims in the Meyerland neighborhood after Hurricane Harvey inundated the area Aug. 28, 2017, in Houston. (Photo: Erich Schlegel, Getty Images) 
 
 HOUSTON — Rescue boats, high-water vehicles, kayaks and even jet skis searched flood-swollen streets Tuesday for trapped, desperate residents as relentless Tropical Storm Harvey trudged east toward Louisiana. 
 
 River levels marched higher, swelled by days of relentless rain. A reservoir splashed over its banks, another threatened to overflow, and authorities in Brazoria County, south of Houston, announced a levee breach. 
 
 "GET OUT NOW!!" Brazoria County officials urged residents near the Columbia Lakes levee via Twitter. 
 
 In a news conference Tuesday evening, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner imposed a 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew for the city after warning residents about people impersonating law enforcement officers. Turner later announced via Twitter that he was pushing back the start time to midnight, "... to allow volunteers and others to do their great work." 
 
 Early Wednesday, the city issued a statement warning people of Homeland Security imposters knocking on doors in the Houston area and ordering residents to evacuate. Officials said people should ask for credentials and badges if approached by anyone who claims they're from the organization. 
 
 In addition to the city's relief efforts, officials added in their statement that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is "not conducting immigration enforcement operations in the affected area." 
 
 As of late Tuesday night, the death toll stood at 18, officials said. Federal and local agencies said they'd rescued more than 13,000 people from the floodwaters and more shelters would open. 
 
 CLOSE Two additional shelters are now open for people displaced by Tropical Storm Harvey. The Toyota Center and NRG Park are now opened to house displaced residents. (Aug. 30) AP 
 
 The NRG Center will become the next major shelter and was expected to open by 10 p.m. Houston time, the Houston Chronicle and KTRK-TV reported. The center will hold up to 10,000 evacuees, according to KHOU. 
 
 The National Hurricane Center reported Tuesday night that Harvey was 85 miles south of Port Arthur, Texas, 85 miles south of Cameron, La., and was moving east at 6 mph. 
 
 Earlier Tuesday, President Trump arrived in Texas, meeting with Gov. Greg Abbott in Corpus Christi but staying out of Houston to avoid adding to the chaos there. Trump lauded the agencies overseeing rescue and recovery and said he expected the effort will be viewed in the future as "the way to do it." 
 
 "This was of epic proportions, no one has ever seen it," Trump said about Harvey's devastating rain. 
 
 The president will return to the area on Saturday, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters Tuesday night. 
 
 "We are definitely going back to Texas on Saturday and possibly Louisiana on Saturday as well, depending on the weather conditions there," she said. "We'll go back into a different part of the state, to have a chance to see some of the areas we were not able to today." 
 
 
 
 More: Your smartphone got wet. Here's what not to do first 
 
 More: About 80% of Hurricane Harvey victims do not have flood insurance 
 
 More: Harvey search and rescue: 'Constant anxiety and dread' 
 
 More: Humanitarian efforts aim to minimize Harvey's misery 
 
 The storm remained over the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday, already having dumped more than 50 inches of rain in parts of Houston. A National Weather Service gauge near Highlands, Texas, recorded 51.88 inches from Harvey — the highest rainfall total from a tropical storm or hurricane in the contiguous 48 states. 
 
 Harvey was likely to dump an additional 6 to 12 inches of rain through Friday over the upper Texas coast and into southwestern Louisiana. 
 
 Still, Mayor Turner tried to be optimistic. 
 
 "My hope is that once we get past the next 24 hours that the situation in the city of Houston will significantly improve," Turner said. 
 
 CLOSE As rainfall continues in the forecast for Houston, officials warn of additional flooding in some neighborhoods, particularly those closest to reservoirs. (Aug. 29) AP 
 
 Emergency responders have conducted more than 3,500 boat and air rescues, and the number kept climbing. Outside help was streaming in. Search-and-rescue crews from Florida, California, Utah and other areas staged at different trouble spots around the city. Walmart was shipping 2,000 kayaks to the area to help stranded residents. 
 
 The giant shelter set up at the George R. Brown Convention Center in downtown Houston was packed with more than 9,000 evacuees — nearly double its planned capacity. Thousands more slept in smaller shelters across the region. 
 
 "Last night in Texas, 17,000+ people sought refuge in shelters," the American Red Cross tweeted Tuesday. "We're providing safety & comfort to rescued families." 
 
 More: Harvey has dropped 42 inches of rain in Houston. Here's where it's moving next. 
 
 More: Animal advocates mobilize to keep pets safe in Hurricane Harvey's wake 
 
 More: Harvey: Nursing home residents rescued after viral photo 'safe, warm & dry' 
 
 Evacuees described turmoil, uncertainty — and relief to have survived. 
 
 Surrounded by people taking a smoking break outside the convention center, Danielle Brown hugged her boyfriend, Lorenzo Harps. They arrived Sunday night after being rescued by boat from a ground-level apartment. 
 
 “Everything was already flooded,” said Brown, huddled beneath a relatively dry overhang as rain poured down. “We had to move to the top floor, to a neighbor.” 
 
 Before moving up, they tried putting electronics, clothes and keepsakes on counters and shelves. The water climbed to 3 feet within hours before businesslike rescuers evacuated them by boat the next day. 
 
 The wrath of Harvey was Brown’s first brush with a tropical storm or hurricane. Her message to the untold numbers of residents experiencing a similar crisis: “Be prepared. Be cautious,” she said. “Grab only what you need. Grab your life.” 
 
 Turner, at a news conference, said two or three more city shelters would open soon. And he again addressed criticism leveled at city officials for declining to call for an evacuation in advance of the storm. 
 
 “You cannot evacuate 6.5 million people within two days,” he said. “You cannot. That would be chaotic. ... You would be putting people more in harm’s way.” 
 
 Brett Schere, 34, of Drippings Springs, Texas, traveled to Houston with a convoy of 12 other people and seven boats to help stranded residents. They’ve pulled out more than 120 trapped flood victims. Two of his buddies got trapped by the floodwaters in Spring and Cypress, Texas. (Photo: Rick Jervis, USA TODAY) 
 
 Police Chief Art Acevedo confirmed the death of one police officer who was trapped in his flooded patrol car late Sunday or early Monday while attempting to get to work. Acevedo called Sgt. Steve Perez, a 34-year police veteran, a "sweet, gentle public servant." 
 
 Authorities said it could be days before the full extent of the storm is known. 
 
 “We know in these kind of events that, sadly, the death toll goes up,” Acevedo told the Associated Press earlier Tuesday. “I’m really worried about how many bodies we’re going to find" when the water recedes. 
 
 Acevedo also said police had arrested a group of four armed "hijackers" and three looters. He issued a warning to would-be offenders. 
 
 "Word to the wise — don't come to Houston because you are going to be caught," he said. He promised swift arrest and a push for tough prosecutions and sentences for criminals who "take advantage of people and prey on them in these circumstances. That is despicable behavior." 
 
 The governor said the focus remained on saving lives, but the recovery effort across the region would begin soon. 
 
 "We will rebuild and make it better than ever," Abbot said. 
 
 Contributing: Doyle Rice, USA TODAY, and The (Lafayette, La.) Daily Advertiser. 
 
 Texas State Highway Beltway 8 is one of several highways around Houston to completely submerge. (Photo: Rick Jervis, USA TODAY) 
 
 Read or Share this story: https://usat.ly/2xJebio ||||| TAMPA — A tweet suggesting that the devastation of Hurricane Harvey was "instant karma" for the red state of Texas has cost a University of Tampa professor his job — making him just the latest academic fired for off-duty speech. 
 
 The University first distanced itself from sociology professor Kenneth L. Storey on Monday. But a tide of online outrage continued. A #FireKenStorey hashtag spread far beyond the university. Angry Facebook comments piled up. 
 
 "Don't think this is a school we will be looking at for my daughter anymore," one commenter said. An alumnus wrote, "Good thing I already paid you, because I'll never send the school another dime again." 
 
 On Tuesday morning, the university fired him. 
 
 UPDATE: National faculty group urges UT to reconsider Storey's firing 
 
 "We condemn the comments and the sentiment behind them, and understand the pain this irresponsible act has caused," spokesman Eric Cardenas said in a statement. 
 
 Storey told the Tampa Bay Times that, while saddened, he understands UT's decision. He got caught up in today's political climate, he said, and knows now that every 140-character post needs to be able to stand on its own. 
 
 "What they see in those tweets is not who I am," he said. "How I worded it was wrong. I care about people. I love this country. I would never want to wish harm upon anyone." 
 
 The university has no clear policy on protections for speech like Storey's, said longtime communication professor Gregg Bachman. Though the tweet was "impulsive, immature and insensitive," Bachman said, he flinched at seeing a fellow professor fired amid blurry boundaries. 
 
 "I can feel a slight chill in the air over this," Bachman said. "I want to see that policy, and if it's not there, I want it developed, because faculty can't feel exposed like this." 
 
 Meanwhile, a group that fights for civil liberties in academia has taken up the issue, disappointed that UT "caved" to the pressure of "outrage mobs" online. 
 
 "Many universities seem to decide, 'Well, it's not worth the trouble of sticking up for our faculty members' rights,' and that's troubling," said Ari Cohn, an attorney with the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education. "Other faculty members are going to think twice before speaking publicly, and that's to the detriment of everybody." 
 
 Storey has worked as an adjunct professor at UT since 2011. This was his first semester as a visiting assistant professor. Now other sociology faculty will take over his classes. 
 
 Storey's controversial tweet, which has been deleted, first drew the ire of conservative websites Turning Point USA and Campus Reform. 
 
 Referencing the hurricane, it read: "I dont believe in instant karma but this kinda feels like it for Texas. Hopefully this will help them realize the GOP doesnt care about them." 
 
 In a follow-up, he said that "good people" in red states like Texas and Florida "need to do more to stop the evil their state pushes." He continued: "I'm only blaming those who support the GOP there." 
 
 As the tweets spread, so did anger. Storey's name was added to a website called Professor Watchlist, a project to "expose and document college professors who discriminate against conservative students and advance leftist propaganda in the classroom." 
 
 Eventually Storey removed the entire thread, as well as his profile photo. He posted an apology on Monday. 
 
 "I never meant to wish ill will upon any group," he wrote. "I hope all affected by Harvey recover quickly." 
 
 Storey said his tweets were taken out of context. In a statement sent to ABC Action News, he said was referring to the "GOP denial of climate change science and push to decrease funds from agencies that can help in a time like this." 
 
 Meanwhile, the university took to Facebook, expressing solidarity for Harvey's victims and condemning Storey's tweets. Still, a deluge of calls, emails and comments demanded Storey's firing. Most of the anger came from people with no affiliation with the university, its spokesman said. 
 
 By Tuesday morning, Storey's page on the university website had been erased. 
 
 Then came his termination. 
 
 Storey said he is taking the situation "day by day," and has not decided whether he will pursue legal action. 
 
 During the first, rainy week of the new semester, several students said they were glad to see Storey answer to his tweets. 
 
 For Houston native Neisha Gamble, the comments particularly stung. 
 
 Gamble, 20, said she is still trying to get in touch with her family in a severely flooded area. 
 
 "Yes, he has free speech, but there are some things you should just keep to yourself," she said, sitting in the university's crowded Vaughn Center. The school made the right call, she said. 
 
 "Don't wish that upon anyone, and then send a fake apology out," she said. 
 
 Pulling an umbrella from her bag, Apollo Beach freshman Erin Hanson said, "As a professor and having a leadership position, it's kind of his job to keep his opinions to himself." 
 
 Patrick Holt, a junior, said he didn't believe the tweet when he first saw it. 
 
 "I thought it was pretty messed up," Holt said. "Twitter's the area for free speech, and you can say what you want, but there's an ethical line." 
 
 Social media firestorms have only heated up since the 2016 election, said Cohn, the attorney. In an era when universities often fold in the face of a public relations fiasco, the voices of internet crusaders hold serious sway. 
 
 In recent months, professors from California to New Jersey have been fired for social media posts and speaking appearances. At Fresno State, a lecturer tweeted that President Trump "must hang" to "save American democracy." A professor at Brigham Young University-Idaho wrote a private Facebook post supporting LGBT equality. Both lost their jobs. 
 
 UT's faculty handbook uses guidance from the American Association of University Professors, which states that, when teachers speak as citizens, "they should be free from institutional censorship or discipline." 
 
 Still, the policy states, they should be accurate, respect others' opinions, "exercise appropriate restraint" and make it clear they're not speaking for their institution. Only if speech raises "grave doubts concerning the teacher's fitness" may a school proceed with discipline, it says. 
 
 UT's procedures for doing so are not entirely clear. 
 
 "We will have to have a deeper and more extensive conversation among the faculty and among the senior academic leadership in order to clarify these lines," said Bachman, also the Faculty Senate president. 
 
 The AAUP said it will be following the case. 
 
 "In the meantime we continue to call on college and university leaders to denounce the targeted online harassment of their faculty members and to more forthrightly defend academic freedom," said Henry Reichman, first vice president of the organization. 
 
 News researcher John Martin contributed to this story. Contact Claire McNeill at [email protected] and Langston Taylor at [email protected] ||||| On Monday, Adam Schrader was set to start a new job as the managing editor of the Colorado County Citizen in Columbus, Texas. But then Hurricane Harvey struck, Schrader got stuck in a hotel nearby, and now he’s out of a job. 
 
 The paper’s offices sit in a town at the mouth of the Colorado River in a town that’s currently being evacuated. Schrader, who moved from New York to Columbus, Texas this year, had traveled the 77 miles to Houston to do a freelance assignment for the New York Daily News this weekend before he started his new job. 
 
 “I kept in touch with my boss and let her know the situation. They know I’m trapped in this storm and we’ve been texting back and forth yesterday. I took a freelance assignment for the [New York] Daily News and got trapped in Houston because of it. So I couldn’t make it in,” Schrader told Ladders. 
 
 “I started driving out of Houston on Sunday night. It took me three hours, but I made it to a hotel in Katy, which is a Houston suburb,” he told Ladders. 
 
 Then on Tuesday morning, still stuck in the hotel, he received a text message. 
 
 lol i just got fired by text because i'm trapped in a hurricane and couldn't make it to my first day of work. #Harvey @NYDailyNews pic.twitter.com/lSrPFh1Xyk — Adam Schrader (@Schrader_Adam) August 29, 2017 
 
 Schrader is concerned about the abrupt move in light of the hurricane’s historical impact on the state of Texas and transportation there. 
 
 He is also worried that the newspaper was upset he was in Houston doing work for another paper, albeit for his start date. 
 
 “This weekend, the Daily News called and asked me to freelance hurricane coverage,” Schrader told Ladders. “I rented a truck in Austin and drove on down and worked it. Flooding wasn’t too bad and I expected to get home but ultimately couldn’t. Interstate 10 was flooded.” 
 
 “It doesn’t really matter what I was doing. I could have gone to Austin to visit my girlfriend….Would they have rescinded the offer letter then? There’s a million legitimate reasons why someone misses their first day of work, and I think being trapped in a hurricane is one of them,” Schrader told Ladders. “It doesn’t really matter why I was caught in the hurricane. The main thing is that I was.” 
 
 Meanwhile, the town of Katy has been purposely flooded to relieve the pressure on Houston’s streets and waterways. “I’m kind of freaking out,” he told Ladders. 
 
 Beyond his job prospects, which are weighing heavily on him, Schrader said he is also worried about Columbus, which is under a voluntary evacuation order since Monday afternoon. “My house I just started renting might be flooded with all my possessions,” he added. “I haven’t even signed the lease yet and all my stuff is there.” 
 
 Employer: Employee chose to write for different outlet and stay in Houston 
 
 On its Facebook page, The Citizen weighed in on its decision, and offered a different story. The paper’s publisher, Michelle Banse Stokes, said that Schrader “failed to come to work despite there being ways for him to make the commute.” 
 
 https://www.facebook.com/coloradocountycitizen/posts/10155042160938175 
 
 According to Stokes, Schrader didn’t show up to work on his start date, and only when Stokes contacted him, did Schrader let the paper know that he was in Houston covering the hurricane for a different outlet as a freelancer. When Stokes urged Schrader to return to Columbus because the paper “needed his coverage here” and the county was under a state of disaster, Schrader refused, according to Stokes. The paper even had an employee travel down the route Schrader would need to take to get to work and that employee had “no issues getting to work.” 
 
 “Realizing the obvious fact that his commitment was to cover this national hurricane event in Houston for another news outlet and not cover news for our coverage area of Colorado County, I made the decision to rescind our offer of employment,” Stokes wrote. 
 
 Schrader responded in the Facebook thread that he was having car trouble during the weekend. 
 
 Schrader later issued a statement. 
 
 Here are my final statements concerning today. pic.twitter.com/pro3fA1z9s — Adam Schrader (@Schrader_Adam) August 30, 2017 
 
 In other parts of Houston, there have been stories of people heading to work despite the risk of rising floodwaters. The New York Times interviewed Gloria Maria Quintanilla, a Houston woman who walked to work in waist-high water, to get to her $10/hour job. She said she went because “It was my day to work, and I’m a very responsible person.” 
 
 Schrader, for his part, expressed sadness about his job prospects after a long job search led him to Texas. “Guess I’m looking for jobs again,” he told Ladders. 
 
 Come discuss this story on The Climb, Ladders’ new Facebook group.
– Texas Gov. Greg Abbott calls it "one of the largest disasters America has ever faced," the New York Times reports. And the numbers back him up. According to USA Today, a National Weather Service gauge outside Houston measured 49.32 inches of rain—the most ever from a tropical storm or hurricane in the continental US. And with Tropical Storm Harvey still dumping water, things aren't likely to get better anytime soon. The levee at Columbia Lakes south of Houston breached Tuesday, and Brazoria County officials weren't mincing words in a tweet: "GET OUT NOW!!" Meanwhile, the Brazos River 30 miles outside Houston measured nearly 52 feet Tuesday and is expected to reach 59 feet by Thursday—easily a record. Officials say Addicks Dam near Houston hit its overflow level, and they're worried about Barker Dam as well, the BBC reports. Here's what else you need to know: Harvey's death toll stands at 15—including a Houston police officer who drowned Sunday in his patrol car while trying to get to work—and is expected to rise. "I'm really worried about how many bodies we're going to find," Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo says. The Texas Attorney General's office says it's received at least 600 reports of price gouging and fraud, including a gas station charging $20 per gallon and a business selling cases of bottled water for $99, the Hill reports. Adam Schrader tells the Ladders he was supposed to start a job as managing editor at a Texas newspaper Monday but was fired—via text—after getting trapped in Houston while working on a freelance assignment about Hurricane Harvey over the weekend. The text noted he "failed to start on the date in your offer letter." The AV Club reports the backlash was swift after ABC World News Tonight anchor Tom Llamas tweeted about calling the police on a group of people scavenging supplies at a waterlogged Houston grocery store : “We informed police of the looting and Coast Guard is flying overhead. Multiple officers now on the scene," Llamas said in a now-deleted tweet. Finally, a University of Tampa sociology professor has been fired after tweeting that Hurricane Harvey was "instant karma" for Texas voting Republican, the Tampa Bay Times reports.