Houston Mayor asks residents near Addicks reservoirs to evacuate

Washington, Sep 2 (IANS) Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner asked the people who live near the Addicks reservoirs in the US to leave their homes.

Water will be released from the dam into the neighborhood for the next 10 to 15 days, Turner said at a news conference on Friday, adding that this is a voluntary evacuation of homes, including apartment buildings, of the already flooded properties in the area, Xinhua news agency reported.

Homes that are already flooded are likely to stay several feet under water, he added.

Citing residents' safety and the toll water rescues take on first responders, Turner asked all residents who had water in their homes to leave.

"I simply do not feel comfortable with you remaining in your homes with water," Turner said. "I have to take into account the stress that's being imposed by our first responders."

Heavy rain that fell following Hurricane Harvey inundated the Barker and Addicks reservoir areas, west of Houston.

Since Monday (August 28), the US Army Corps of Engineers has been deliberately releasing water from both reservoirs into nearby neighborhoods, since rising water levels in the reservoirs reached the limits.