Levee breaches due to Harvey at Houston suburb forcing evacuation

[August 30, 2017]    HOUSTON (Reuters) - A levee along the Brazos River south of Houston breached on Tuesday due to heavy rains from Tropical Storm Harvey, forcing officials to call for residents to evacuate low-lying areas.

Matt Sebesta, the chief administrator of Brazoria County, urged residents of the Columbia Lakes neighborhood to leave.

"They need to get out. Get to higher ground in Angleton," the county seat, he said in a televised interview.

Columbia Lakes is located about 50 miles (80 km) from Houston, close to Brazos River.

The Houston area's rivers have started to flood. Harris County officials earlier on Tuesday warned resident of six northern Houston neighborhoods to evacuate around two water reservoirs that had started overflowing.

(Reporting by Gary McWilliams and Marianna Parraga; Editing by Dan Grebler and Bill Trott)

[© 2017 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2017 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.