Houston TV station forced to evacuate as Harvey waters flood the newsroom
As Hurricane Harvey continues to dump staggering amounts of rain over Houston, KHOU-TV, 11 News, one of the city's local TV news broadcasting stations, was forced to evacuate as flood waters surged in.
SEE ALSO: Historic, catastrophic flooding underway in Houston from Tropical Storm Harvey
The staff first evacuated to the second floor after flood water poured in during a live broadcast.
Water coming into studio at #KHOU11... We are moving upstairs. pic.twitter.com/MMEljNatw7
— Doug Delony (@DougDelonyKHOU) August 27, 2017
#KHOU11 flooding. Water 4 feet deep in the parking lot. First floor flooded. We've evacuated to 2nd floor. @GaughanSurfing pic.twitter.com/puwpzqgDB8
— Blake Mathews (@KHOUBlake11) August 27, 2017
But soon, even with floodgates set up around the building, water started gushing into the newsroom. At that point, station staff made the decision to evacuate instead.
Water pouring in the front door of channel 11 on Sunday morning. #khou11 #Houston pic.twitter.com/X5kDrCpdXN
— The Bishop (@BillBishopKHOU) August 27, 2017
I can only think of Saving Private Ryan. The last man standing blows the bridge before the Nazis take it. The code word is Alamo. #khou
— The Bishop (@BillBishopKHOU) August 27, 2017
Alamo. We are evacuating KHOU. #khou #HouNews
— The Bishop (@BillBishopKHOU) August 27, 2017
This wasn't the station's first brush with a tropical storm, either. KHOU was also forced to evacuate the building during Tropical Storm Allison in 2001. That prior storm — which Harvey could end up eclipsing — left 41 dead and caused around $9 billion dollars in property damages by the time it was over.
This latest evacuation went smoothly for KHOU, at least. Everyone got out of the building, and the station is now off the air.
The @KHOU building has been evacuated and the station is now off the air. #HurricaneHarvey
— Jerome Solomon (@JeromeSolomon) August 27, 2017
Khou pic.twitter.com/pRpB0lgZxP
— SN0WBLACK_THE_ORACLE (@sportsmediaLM) August 27, 2017
In case, you still haven't realized the severity of this storm, here's a photo of a traffic camera — usually placed at the same height as a street light — nearly submerged in downtown Houston.
This is insane this is a traffic camera at the height of the street lights almost underwater in #Houston. #Flood #Harvey pic.twitter.com/45s3NGUUjF
— Brad Panovich (@wxbrad) August 27, 2017
This image and the forecast of what is still to fall.... This is surreal. #HoustonFlood #Harvey pic.twitter.com/zK9WojsMAH
— Matthew Sitkowski (@MattSitkowski) August 27, 2017
WATCH: Hurricane Harvey is intensifying in the Gulf of Mexico
