At least 60 people died as a direct result of Hurricane Harvey, according to emergency management departments across southeast Texas.
The Associated Press reported many of those deaths were people drowning in flash floods or water-logged roads.
This total as of 5pm on Monday does not include people who died from indirect complications caused by the category four hurricane.
Recently, the huge dump of water loosened the ground around trees that crashed into at least two homes in Montgomery County, causing two deaths, said county emergency management spokeswoman Cynthia Jamieson.
As of 5pm on Monday at least 60 people have died as a direct result of Hurricane Harvey which hit southeast Texas last week (flooded home in Houston, pictured)
Family members cried and comforted each other as a van is pulled out of the Greens Bayou with the bodies of several family members on Wednesday
The Texas Department of Public Safety confirmed that a couple had died while driving outside of Jasper, Texas, when a tree landed on their vehicle.
Power outages from the storm have also accounted for some of the indirect deaths. Several elderly people in a handful of counties were reported as Harvey-related deaths when medical equipment such as oxygen tanks lost power.
Harris County, where the Houston metro area is located, has the highest toll at this point of the 11 counties affected with 30 deaths.
The storm has also left more than half a million families displaced. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) says it has about 560,000 families registered for its housing assistance program.
FEMA spokeswoman Tiana Suber says if those people’s homes are found to be uninhabitable or inaccessible for an extended time, they may qualify for the agency’s Transitional Shelter Assistance.
Some will qualify for short-term hotel lodging at FEMA expense, while others will be referred to local agencies or voluntary organizations for possible assistance.
Team members of Conroe-based affiliate of Acadian prepare barbecue lunches for emergency personnel while volunteering their time and grilling skills at Acadian’s headquarters in Beaumont
Deputy federal coordinating officer John Long said the main focus is to move people from the large shelters, where stress levels can run high. He says FEMA is tracking the families being moved from the large shelters as best as it can, but people will move in and out of those shelters.
The storm left over 40,000 homes and a million cars destroyed as well according to Yahoo Finance.
‘You really have to have a car if you’re in Houston,’ said executive director of Transportation Advocacy Group Houston, Andrea French said.
Congress returns to Washington on DC Tuesday and is expected to immediately get to work drafting a bill to send billions of dollars to hurricane-ravaged parts of Texas and Louisiana.
The House and Senate are expected to vote quickly on the first $7.9 billion aid installment to help with immediate recovery and rebuilding needs in Houston and beyond.
Additional funds will be tucked into a catchall spending bill later this month, keeping the government running past Sept. 30, when the current budget year ends.