E. coli in floodwaters hound Texas

HOUSTON—A Texas A&M University analysis of floodwater samples from the Houston area showed E. coli levels that are 125 times higher than is considered safe for swimming.

Terry Gentry, an associate professor in the university’s Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, said even walking through floodwater could lead to infections and other problems.

Gentry said tests from a sample in Cypress, a suburb northwest of Houston, showed bacteria levels 15 times higher than acceptable for wading.

E. coli in water isn’t what causes illnesses but is an “indicator bacteria” that signal the presence of fecal matter, which can make people sick.

Filling fuel tanks was becoming increasingly difficult in parts of Texas where some stations were out of gas and pump costs have risen steeply.

Gas queue

In Dallas, lines of cars a block long were common for the few gas stations that had gasoline to sell on Thursday. The scene was reminiscent of the gas lines seen during the Arab oil embargo of the 1970s.

The Texas attorney general’s office said anyone seeing gas prices of $4 or higher should take pictures and report the stations as price-gouging.

The National Weather Service had projected flooding in Kentucky and Tennessee as Tropical Depression “Harvey,” which slammed Texas as a Category 4 hurricane, moved inland.

Forecasters said the storm was expected to dump 50 to 152 millimeters of rain in Kentucky, with the highest totals expected in western Kentucky near the Tennessee border.

The heaviest rainfall for a wide swath of the state is expected to start late on Thursday and last through Friday afternoon. Forecasters said high winds from the storm could also produce tornadoes.

Harvey dumped nearly 1,321 mm of rain on at least one spot in Texas.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott had declared Sunday as a day of prayer for his waterlogged state.

Harvey also cut water supply in another part of Texas, Beaumont.

Beaumont officials said it was unclear when their city would be able to provide residents with potable water.

Disabled pumps

City manager Kyle Hayes said rising floodwaters on the Neches River were covering pumps that bring drinking water to Beaumont.

Hayes said city workers won’t be able to check the pumps for repairs until the water recedes.

The US Navy is sending two ships to provide humanitarian aid to areas affected by Harvey.

A Houston woman warned people in the area to stay out of Harvey’s floodwaters after her son was electrocuted while wading through the water to check on his sister’s home.

Jodell Pasek said her 25-year-old son, Andrew, was unaware that a landscape light had electrified the water when he stepped into it on Tuesday afternoon. She said he fell and grabbed a lamppost and told a friend who was with him to stay away because he was dying.

She said she was speaking out despite her grief to ensure her son didn’t lose his life in vain. —AP