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Death Toll Rises In Texas With Over 20,000 Homeless From Devastating Flooding And In Need Of Food As Harvey Hits Louisiana

Tragedy struck the Houston Police Department when Sergeant Steve Perez drowned in deep water while driving to work.

As Tropical Storm Harvey makes landfall for the second time in Texas as well as Louisiana, the death toll in Houston has risen to 30. Emergency workers are tirelessly rescuing thousands of displaced residents put out of their homes by the torrential flooding. 

Over 20,000 people have taken refuge in shelters in the most affected areas. The water levels continue to rise, as a Houston meteorologist tracked a record high of nearly 52 inches. As the storm moves to southern Louisiana, storm trackers expect an additional 20 inches of rain.

Not only have people been put out of their homes, but they are also running out of the necessary resources for survival.

According to Buzzfeed News, grocery stores in Houston have begun to run out of food, although lines to get into the supermarkets continue to wrap around the parking lot. Some grocery stores have started to turn people away and/or limit the amount of food patrons can purchase.

"Yeah, there's limits," Luis Castillo, an employee at Mi Tienda told BuzzFeed News. "But we already ran out of bread. There's no more bread."

Several Houston grocery stores, including chains like Kroger and H-E-B, are unsure of when new deliveries and shipments will be coming to the stores. 

The flooding in Houston is not only making it difficult for people to go about their lives, its turning an average commute into a fatal danger.

One Houston police officer was driving on his way to work Sunday when he became trapped in a flooded area and died in a drowning-related incident. Houston Police Sergeant Steve Perez was trying to find a safe way to get to his station. When he was instructed to go to a different station, he drove into a dark underpass and became trapped in deep water.

"This is an individual who was with HPD, Houston's finest, men and women in blue, for 34 years,” Mayor Sylvester Turner told reporters in a press conference on Tuesday. “In fact, he was two days shy of his 61st birthday. And he lost his life on Sunday morning on his way to work.

"On behalf of the people of the city of Houston and our great city, I want to take the time to extend my condolences, my prayers, to his family, specifically to his — specifically to his wife, Cheryl, to his son as well as to his daughter."

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