Six-month-old 'ripped' from parents' arms in Harvey flooding

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Authorities in a suburb north of Houston said a six-month-old baby was swept away last week in Harvey flooding, The Houston Chronicle reported.

The tragic scene unfolded in Walker County, which is about 55 miles north of Houston.

On Aug. 27, firefighters were responding to another call when they heard the screams coming from the baby's parents, The Chronicle reported. The pair was up in a tree. They reportedly had to flee their pickup in the rushing waters.

“The current was so fast, it ripped the baby out of their arms,” Jimmy Williams, a member of the New Waverly Fire Department, told the paper. “So the baby was lost.”

“It’s the worst,” he said. “It’s as bad as you can imagine.”

The report said it took rescuers three hours to get to the couple. The baby is presumed dead, the report said.

Harvey slammed into Texas on Aug. 25 as a Category 4 hurricane, but brought the worst flooding to Houston and other areas as a tropical storm. The rain totaled nearly 52 inches in some spots, and the storm is blamed for at least 44 deaths.

The mayor of Houston has ordered mandatory evacuations for people who haven't left their homes in part of the city that remains flooded more than a week after Harvey dumped 50-plus inches of rain in spots.

Mayor Sylvester Turner on Saturday said about 300 people have stayed behind in western stretches of the city inundated by water that the Army Corp of Engineers has released from reservoirs. The mayor is now ordering those people to leave.

There are 4,700 dwellings in the flooded area, including houses and apartments.

Turner asked residents in the area to leave Friday. On Saturday he said those who had stayed behind were endangering themselves and first responders.

The Associated Press contributed to this report