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Top Story--The Latest: Best Buy Sorry for Overpriced Water in Houston

Global August 2017
The Latest on Tropical Storm Harvey (all times local).

HOUSTON (AP) — The Latest on Tropical Storm Harvey (all times local):

8:45 a.m.

Best Buy says it is "deeply sorry" following accusations of price gouging after a photo posted online showed cases of water for sale at one of the electronic retailer's Houston-area stores for more than $42.

The photo , which was widely shared on Twitter, appeared to have been taken by a Houston resident.

Best Buy says the sale was "clearly a mistake on the part of a few employees at a single store." The company explained in a statement that it doesn't have pricing for cases of water in its system and employees priced the water "by multiplying the cost of one bottle by the number of bottles in a case."

The company says it's "deeply sorry that we gave anyone even the momentary impression that we were trying to take advantage of the situation."

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8:15 a.m.

An emergency management official east of Houston says the area bordering Louisiana is virtually isolated because primary roads are flooded and water levels are rising.

Marcus McLellan, spokesman for the Jefferson County emergency management office in Beaumont, said Wednesday that Interstate 10 is flooded, as are several highways and many secondary roads.

I-10 from Houston to New Orleans is one of the most heavily traveled roads in the country, normally carrying tens of thousands of vehicles each day.

McLellan says he's stationed at the emergency operations center in downtown Beaumont and to leave the area he'd have to travel east on secondary roads toward Louisiana, which is receiving the brunt of Tropical Storm Harvey.

Beaumont Mayor Becky Ames on Wednesday told NBC's Today show that every body of water around the city is overflowing and that the rain continues to fall.

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7 a.m.

A shelter near Houston for at least 100 displaced people has been overrun by Harvey floodwaters, forcing weary evacuees to retreat to bleacher seats.

Jefferson County sheriff's deputy Marcus McLellan said Wednesday that the Bowers Civic Center in Port Arthur was inundated overnight due to overwhelming rainfall and a nearby overflowing canal.

Cots and belongings have been abandoned on the civic center floor, which is under about a foot (30 centimeters) of water.

McLellan says it's not clear where the evacuees will go. Some have been at the civic center since Monday.

He says he's not sure if a Salvation Army shelter in Beaumont has space, and the Beaumont Civic Center can hold 600 people but it's already at capacity. Beaumont is just northwest of Port Arthur.

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4 a.m.

The National Hurricane Center says Harvey is back on land after coming ashore early Wednesday just west of Cameron, Louisiana. The tropical storm is expected to weaken and continue to the north.

The storm returned to land about 5 miles (8 kilometers) west of Cameron with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph (72 kph).

Center meteorologist Dennis Feltgen said Tuesday that when Harvey came back to shore, "it's the end of the beginning."

Harvey is forecast to drop substantial amounts of rain on Louisiana before moving on to Arkansas, Tennessee and parts of Missouri, which could also see flooding.

Feltgen said there's still a lot of residents in multiple states "who are going to feel the impacts of the storm."

Harvey first made landfall Friday in Texas as a Category 4 hurricane.

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2 a.m.

The National Weather Service has issued flash flood emergencies for parts of Southeast Texas, including Beaumont and Port Arthur.

KFDM-TV reports the situation in Port Arthur is dire as homes were expected to fill with rising floodwaters and residents unsure of how to evacuate the city.

Jefferson County Sheriff Zena Stephens tells the station that county resources cannot get to Port Arthur because of the flooding and some residents have gone into survival mode.

Mayor Derrick Freeman said on his Facebook page that the "city is underwater right now but we are coming!" He also urged residents to get to higher ground, but avoid becoming trapped in attics.

Deputy Marcus McLellan says city's 911 system has been inundated with calls, which are bouncing to other law enforcement agencies. McLellan says the sheriff's office is working to relay those calls to the proper authorities in Port Arthur.

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1:15 a.m.

After five days of torrential rain, the latest weather forecast predicts less than an inch of rain and perhaps even sunshine for the Houston area.

However, the dangers remain far from over. Authorities and family members have reported at least 18 deaths from Harvey, while law enforcement agencies say more than 13,000 people have been rescued in the Houston area and surrounding parts of Southeast Texas.

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner also implemented a curfew of midnight to 5 a.m. in an apparent response to scattered reports of looting. Police Chief Art Acevedo said violators would be searched and arrested.

Two additional shelters — the Toyota Center and NRG Park — opened to house displaced residents. Louisiana's governor also offered to take in Harvey victims from Texas, and televangelist Joel Osteen opened his Houston megachurch, a 16,000-seat former arena, after critics blasted him on social media for not acting to help families displaced by the storm.

Harvey is expected to come inland Wednesday near the Texas-Louisiana border.

 
 
 
 
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