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Harris County activates emergency operations center for Harvey

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HARRIS COUNTY, Texas - Officials at Harris County Emergency Management are watching the radar and monitoring updates on Harvey as they come in from the National Weather Service . Harris County Judge Ed Emmett said they're expecting flooding in the area. The county is expecting a major rain event , meaning we'll likely see steady rain that hangs around. Emmett said Harvey is expected to sit on our area until Monday, which means flooding is likely. Officials anticipate 12-15 inches of rain in Harris County. Emmett said the weather we've had of late proves helpful as we gear up for Harvey. "There's good news in that we haven't had any rain in a while, so the reservoirs are empty. The watersheds are all in good shape, but if we get that amount of rain, over a very sustained period of time, then we're on the Gulf Coast and people are going to experience flooding," Emmett said. The Harris County Flood Control District said crews are working to make sure...

Lessons from the storm: Effects of extreme weather linger more among children and older adults

Ruth Bennett woke up at 1 a.m. and looked through the doorway of her independent living apartment in Walker, about 20 miles west of Baton Rouge. It was Aug. 13, 2016, and rain had been pouring down for two days. Bennett was worried about her car flooding. She saw water creeping up to the parking lot, but her  car looked safe . She crawled back into bed.  Two hours later, one of the employees of Southern Pines Retirement Community  was pounding on Bennett's door. Not only had Bennett's car flooded, the facility was surrounded by water. The employee told Bennet to grab what she needed, including her medicine. "In two hours it had come from nothing," Bennett recalled recently . "It was very frightening, especially when you're old." The elderly and children are among the most vulnerable populations to extreme weather events . That's in part because they often do not have the ability to mobilize quickly or on their own, and they're at a greater risk...