HOUSTON – Enough is enough.
Mayor Sylvester Turner is now calling for mandatory evacuation in the west Houston area near the Addicks reservoir where houses are flooded. The area in question is east of reservoirs on Highway 6, north of Briarforest, west of Gessner and south of Interstate 10.
Again, evacuation order is for homes that already have water in zone S of I-10, N of Briarforest, E of reservoirs and W of Gessner.
— Sylvester Turner (@SylvesterTurner) September 2, 2017
Mayor Turner says he is mandatory evacuation order is to prevent harm to residents and make first responders work more feasible in that zone.
Mandatory evacuation order is to prevent harm to residents and make first responder work more feasible in that zone.
— Sylvester Turner (@SylvesterTurner) September 2, 2017
People in about 115 homes have already evacuated voluntarily, but thousands more need to be evacuated, according to The Houston Fire Department. People in about 300 flooded houses have chosen to stay behind despite the call for voluntary evacuations.
In addition to calling for the mandatory evacuation of the area, Centerpoint Energy will be shutting off the electricity in the inundated area beginning at 7:00 a.m. on Sunday.
Mayor Turner, also, said the releases of the reservoirs from U.S. Army Corps of Engineers may result in standing water in homes for two weeks.
