George Bush Intercontinental Airport has shut down commercial operations "until further notice" due to flooding caused by tropical storm Harvey. The airport has announced that all inbound and outbound roads have flooded.
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Although it had remained minimally operational in the early hours of Sunday, by midday the airport ceased all flights.
The announcement follows that of Houston's William P. Hobby Airport, which closed early Sunday morning after flood waters reached the airport's runways and that of Corpus Christi International Airport, which closed on Saturday.
By yesterday, some 3,000 flights had been canceled and those numbers continue to skyrocket with the closure of Houston's two major airports. According to USA Today cancellations have hit 4,000 flights including some 1,000 flights canceled on Monday.
Other Texas airports, including those in Dallas, San Antonio and Austin are also feeling the effects of Harvey. In Dallas, some 16 percent of flights have been canceled. That number jumped to 25 percent for San Antonio and Austin.
Meanwhile, Cruise Critic is reporting that readers on board Liberty of the Seas have said the ship is now headed for Miami with plans to return to Galveston on Friday. Some 20,000 passengers on four Galveston-bound cruise ships have been affected by Harvey.
Harvey made landfall near Corpus Christi, Texas on Friday night as a Category 4 hurricane. It was since downgraded to a tropical storm but continues a slow push inland while dumping record rainfall and causing "catastrophic" flooding in its wake.
By Saturday evening, the storm had made its way to Houston, causing the city's already swollen rivers and bayous to overflow. Houston received more than 2 feet of rain within 24 hours and is the midst of historic flooding. Affected residents have been urged to find high ground or climb to the roof of their house as they await rescue.
It is expected that Harvey will continue to dump more rain on besieged Houston at least until the middle of the week.
"Additional catastrophic, unprecedented, and life threatening flooding continues today and into next week," tweeted the National Weather Service.
The Weather Service has also issued a tornado warning for parts of Texas-the City of Frisco confirmed via Twitter that a tornado has touched down within its borders.
At least one woman in Houston has died due to Harvey-she was found trapped in her flooded car. She is the second confirmed Harvey-related casualty. On Saturday, a man in the coastal city of Rockport died after being trapped in a house fire. Other casualties have also been reported but remain unverified.
The Weather Service has called the storm "unprecedented and beyond anything experienced."
Some 2.2 million people live in Houston, the fourth-largest city in the United States. Last year the city welcomed a record 20 million visitors. According to the Greater Houston Convention & Visitors Bureau, George Bush Intercontinental Airport and William P. Hobby Airport handled a combined load of 55 million passengers in 2015.
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