text: East Texas county tells residents 'GET OUT OR DIE!' 
   
   Emergency Management officials in Tyler County in East Texas posted a harrowing Facebook message Wednesday evening warning residents of imminent and deadly flooding. 
   
   "The U.S. Army Corp of Engineers has advised the Tyler County office of Emergency Management that the flood gates were opened to 100 feet at 3:00 pm CSDST," wrote Tyler County Judge Jacques Blanchette. "River levels will rise to near seventy nine feet. With additional rain fall accumulations, a potential elevation could reach near eighty two feet." 
   
   The alarming message said residents near the area must evacuate immediately. 
   
   STORM DEATHS: Death toll from Harvey flooding exceeds 30 
   
   "Anyone who chooses to not heed this directive cannot expect to be rescued and should write their social security numbers in permanent marker on their arm so their bodies can be identified," wrote Blanchette. "The loss of life and property is certain." 
   
   The emergency advisory ended with the words "GET OUT OR DIE!" along with a phone number for anyone needing boat assistance or rescue. 
   
   Tropical Storm Harvey made a second landfall in Louisiana early Wednesday. Along the way, it has dumped rain on east Texas communities, including Tyler County. 
   
   AFTER HARVEY: How to help victims of the Texas storm 
   
   According to the National Weather Service, communities in Southeast Texas received between 8-15 inches of rainfall as Harvey slowly made its way to Louisiana. 
   
   In Harris County, an average of 27 inches fell on the region between Friday and Monday, with some spots receives a record 50 inches. 
   
   See photos of the destruction and flooding caused by Harvey above. ||||| Evacuees escaping the floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey rest at the George R. Brown Convention Center that has been set up as a shelter in Houston, Texas, Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2017. (AP Photo/LM Otero) (Associated Press) 
   
   HOUSTON (AP) — Major dangers for the U.S. Gulf Coast area loomed after an explosion at a Texas chemical plant early Thursday and the threat of major flooding further east near the Texas-Louisiana line as Harvey's floodwaters began receding in the Houston area after five days of torrential rain. 
   
   Beaumont and Port Arthur, Texas, struggled with rising water as the area was pounded with what remained of the weakening storm, while Houston's fire department said it would begin a block-by-block search Thursday of thousands of flooded homes. Assistant Fire Chief Richard Mann said the searches were to ensure "no people were left behind." 
   
   The confirmed death toll climbed to at least 31, including six family members — four of them children — whose bodies were pulled Wednesday from a van that had been swept off a Houston bridge into a bayou. 
   
   "Unfortunately, it seems that our worst thoughts are being realized," Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said after the van that disappeared over the weekend was found in 10 feet of muddy water. 
   
   The Houston-area chemical plant that lost power after Harvey engulfed the area in extensive floods was rocked by two explosions early Thursday, the plant's operator said. The Arkema Inc. plant had been left without refrigeration for chemicals that become volatile as the temperature rises. 
   
   The Harris County Sheriff's Office said in a tweet that a deputy was taken to the hospital after inhaling fumes. Nine other deputies drove themselves to the hospital as a precaution. 
   
   The company shut down the Crosby site before Harvey made landfall last week, but a crew of 11 had stayed behind. That group was removed and residents living within a 1.5-mile (2.4-kilometer) radius were told to evacuate Tuesday after the plant lost power. 
   
   Another threat was emerging east of Houston where weather conditions deteriorated close to the Louisiana line. 
   
   Beaumont and Port Arthur worked to evacuate residents after Harvey completed a U-turn in the Gulf of Mexico and rolled ashore early Wednesday for the second time in six days. It hit southwestern Louisiana as a tropical storm with heavy rain and winds of 45 mph. 
   
   When Harvey paid its return visit to land, it hit near Cameron, Louisiana, about 45 miles from Port Arthur. 
   
   Port Arthur found itself increasingly isolated as floodwaters swamped most major roads out of the city. 
   
   More than 500 people — along with dozens of dogs, cats, a lizard and a monkey — took shelter at the Max Bowl bowling alley in the city, said the establishment's general manager, Jeff Tolliver. 
   
   "The monkey was a little surprising, but we're trying to help," he said. 
   
   Floodwaters also toppled two oil storage tanks in South Texas, spilling almost 30,000 gallons of crude. It was not immediately clear if any of the spilled oil was recovered. More damage to the oil industry infrastructure is expected to emerge as floodwaters recede. 
   
   Forecasters downgraded Harvey to a tropical depression late Wednesday from a tropical storm but it still has lots of rain and potential damage to spread, with 4 to 8 inches (10 to 20 centimeters) forecast from the Louisiana-Texas line into Tennessee and Kentucky through Friday. Some spots may get as much as a foot, raising the risk of more flooding. 
   
   For much of the Houston area, forecasters said the rain is pretty much over. 
   
   "We have good news," said Jeff Lindner, a meteorologist with the Harris County Flood Control District. "The water levels are going down." 
   
   Houston's two major airports were up and running again Wednesday. Officials said they were resuming limited bus and light rail service as well as trash pickup. 
   
   At Hermann Park, south of downtown, children glided by in strollers and wagons, joggers took in midday runs and couples walked beside cascading fountains and beneath a sparkling sun. People pulled into drive-thru restaurants and emerged from a store with groceries. 
   
   At the same time, many thousands of Houston-area homes are under water and could stay that way for days or weeks. And Lindner cautioned that homes near at least one swollen bayou could still get flooded. 
   
   Officials said 911 centers in the Houston area are getting more than 1,000 calls an hour from people seeking help. 
   
   Altogether, more than 1,000 homes in Texas were destroyed and close to 50,000 damaged, and over 32,000 people were in shelters across the state, emergency officials reported. About 10,000 more National Guard troops are being deployed to Texas, bringing the total to 24,000, Gov. Greg Abbott said. 
   
   In Orange, Texas, about 30 miles east of Beaumont, residents of a retirement home surrounded by thigh-deep water were rescued by National Guardsmen and wildlife officers, who carried them from the second floor and put them aboard an airboat. 
   
   Harvey initially came ashore as a Category 4 hurricane in Texas on Friday, then went back out to sea and lingered off the coast as a tropical storm for days, inundating flood-prone Houston. 
   
   Harvey's five straight days of rain totaled close to 52 inches, the heaviest tropical downpour ever recorded in the continental U.S. 
   
   ___ 
   
   Associated Press writers Frank Bajak, Matt Sedensky and Michael Graczyk in Houston; Diana Heidgerd and David Warren in Dallas; Seth Borenstein in Washington; Paul J. Weber in Austin, Texas; and Tammy Webber in Chicago contributed to this report. 
   
   ___ 
   
   Sign up for AP's daily newsletter showcasing our best all-formats reporting on Harvey and its aftermath: http://apne.ws/ahYQGtb . ||||| As Tropical Storm Harvey continues to deluge homes and sweep vehicles off roads in Texas and Louisiana, at least 38 deaths have been reported. Officials in affected counties are starting to learn the victims’ identities and piece together the circumstances around their deaths. 
   
   Here are details on some of those who died. This article will be updated. 
   
   Image 
   
   Andrew Pasek 
   
   Andrew Pasek, 25, was always bringing home stray animals. There was Mali the puppy, his mother recalled, a tabby he called Blu and a Tibetan spaniel named Coco. 
   
   So it surprised no one that on Tuesday, Andrew set out to retrieve his sister Alyssa’s cat, D’Artagnan, who had been left behind as the floodwaters rose in Houston. 
   
   Andrew drove to the home with his childhood friend, Sean Stuart, and they began wading through several feet of water toward his sister’s two-story house. 
   
   Suddenly, the two felt the jolt of an electrical current in the water, said Andrew’s mother, JoDell Pasek. 
   
   “Years ago, Andrew had had an accident and broken his ankle severely, and he had plates and pins in his ankle,” she said. “All of that electricity started going to everything in his ankle and he started jumping around.” 
   
   Andrew fell into a mailbox on a metal post. “He told Sean, ‘Get away from me, I’m dying,’” Ms. Pasek said, through tears. “He knew immediately that if Sean touched him, he would be electrocuted too.” 
   
   Officials in Harris County attributed his death to accidental electrocution, the ninth confirmed storm death in the county. 
   
   Sean’s mother called Ms. Pasek to tell her what had happened. “I get that phone call, my son is no longer alive,” she said. “I just started screaming. We’ve been friends since the kids were in kindergarten, so I know it was the hardest thing she had to do.” 
   
   Gathered at home in Houston, Andrew’s family was left wondering if they could have stopped him from trying to rescue D’Artagnan. 
   
   “We’ve all decided that no matter what we would have said, he would have gone anyway,” Ms. Pasek said. “That was just his nature.” 
   
   Donald and Rochelle Rogers 
   
   Thelma Hooker has barely begun to mourn her brother, Donald Rogers, 65, and his wife, Rochelle, 58, who drowned in floodwaters on Wednesday while driving their Toyota pickup truck to check on a relative. 
   
   “It just don’t feel real,” she said. 
   
   Ms. Hooker is mostly worried about their 91-year-old mother, Lola, who lives at home and is in poor health. The family has yet to tell her the news. Not today, they are thinking, not till they figure out how to say it. 
   
   “I don’t want my mom to get sicker,” Ms. Hooker said. “We just can’t tell her right now.” 
   
   Until then, they are screening phone calls and keeping the television turned off. Reports of the couple’s death have been on the news — he was a minister, a well-liked man, she said. Rochelle Rogers worked at a flower shop and was devoted to the couple’s church. 
   
   On Wednesday, Mr. Rogers called Ms. Hooker to see how she was doing, telling her that he and Rochelle would be heading over to an uncle’s house to make sure he was safe. Somehow they drove into the raging floodwaters, the authorities said. They called 911 from the pickup, pleading for help. 
   
   Ms. Hooker knows they cannot delay telling her mother much longer. “I know my mom, and she has an instinct,” she said. “She’s getting worried. It’ll have to be tomorrow.” 
   
   The Saldivar family ||||| This 2014 photo provided by Virginia Saldivar shows her grandchildren Daisy, from left, Xavier and Dominic Saldivar, three of the four children presumed dead after their van sank into Greens Bayou on... (Associated Press) 
   
   HOUSTON (AP) — Now that the sun is finally shining and the murky, brown floodwaters are slowly receding in much of the Houston area, grim reality is setting in. 
   
   Harvey is about to release its dead. 
   
   In Texas, the official death toll surpassed 30 on Wednesday and was expected to climb as authorities investigated several other deaths to determine whether they were storm-related. Officials fear that the number of fatalities will climb sharply in coming days as neighbors, emergency workers and family members search for the missing — and discover the bodies of people trapped in waterlogged homes or encased in underwater graves inside cars. And the death toll might rise even further in the recovery phase, from car crashes, carbon monoxide poisoning or other accidents during cleanup. 
   
   "Historically all estimates of deaths are wrong in the beginning," said Craig Fugate, who was the Federal Emergency Management Agency director from 2009 until earlier this year. 
   
   Already, the nation is shocked by the horrors revealed as the storm moves out of the area and east toward Louisiana and points north. 
   
   The first confirmed fatality came early: A man in the Gulf coastal city of Rockport was killed in a fire late Friday as the storm raged ashore. 
   
   On Wednesday, officials located a submerged van that seven members of a Houston family had been traveling in when it was swept off a bridge and into a storm-ravaged bayou. Samuel Saldivar told police he was trying to bring his elderly parents and his brother's four grandchildren to safety from their flooded home on Sunday when the van he was driving was tossed by a strong current into the bayou as it crossed the bridge. He escaped through a window but the six others were trapped when the van's partially submerged sliding door wouldn't open. 
   
   Also Wednesday, authorities said 65-year-old Donald Rogers and his 58-year-old wife, Rochelle, drowned when they were swept away by a current after driving their pickup truck into floodwaters in a rural area southwest of Houston. Fort Bend County Sheriff's Maj. Chad Norvell said the couple was on the phone with 911 asking for help when the line went silent. When officers found the truck, it was completely submerged. 
   
   On Tuesday afternoon, a 3-year-old girl was found alive in a rain-swollen canal, clinging to the body of her drowned mother in Beaumont, Texas. A second woman was confirmed dead in Beaumont on Wednesday. 
   
   Earlier Tuesday, the body of 61-year-old Houston Police Sgt. Steve Perez was found in his car. He'd been swept down a flooded road as he drove to his precinct, determined to serve his community. 
   
   Eleven other confirmed deaths, some of which were listed on a Harris County database, showed people were found floating in waters — some in homes or businesses, others near cars. Among those victims was Ruben Jordan, a high school basketball coach, who was last seen late Saturday helping people through floodwaters. His family was informed on Monday that he had died in the floods. 
   
   "The sad thing is, of the deaths we've seen, we're going to see more, unfortunately," said Jeff Schlegelmilch, the deputy director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University. "That number doesn't stop moving up until we're well into the recovery phase." 
   
   No official number of the missing has been released, and a spokesman for the Harris County Sheriff's Office, where Houston is located, said there isn't a specific strategy in place to look for additional bodies. 
   
   "We are going to go out and try to find any potential victims that may be there," said the spokesman, Jake Smith. "We are also encouraging the public if they come across anything, we strongly urge them to call 911 if they find a body or a potential victim." 
   
   Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo said the department had received 47 missing persons reports since Harvey inundated the city and 27 of those individuals have been located. 
   
   Photos with pleas for help have been posted on social media, cut-and-pasted and retweeted by thousands of people as desperate family members seek loved ones they fear may be dead — but who may only have a cellphone without power. The uncertainty is terrifying. 
   
   One of the worries, said Schlegelmilch, is that many of the severely flooded neighborhoods weren't in evacuation areas. 
   
   Additionally, the people most likely to be found dead are the elderly, the infirm and the people who were isolated from others — along with folks who didn't have the means or wherewithal to flee. Sometimes it's a matter of having the strength to wade through floodwaters a few blocks to safety, or to pull one's self up onto a roof. 
   
   "Those who are the most vulnerable when the sky is blue, they are also the most vulnerable when the sky is gray," Schleglemilch said. 
   
   Fugate, the former FEMA head, said it's also common for people to die during the recovery phase, when stress levels are high and people aren't making clear-headed decisions. 
   
   "Stay safe, stay home, stay off the roads if you can. Don't go sightseeing," he warned. 
   
   Still, experts say there is some good news: They don't expect the death toll from Harvey to come anywhere close to that of Katrina, when 1,800 people died. Many of those flood-related fatalities came when a levee broke and water inundated New Orleans. People were stranded in extreme heat and the federal response was slow. Emergency managers learned painful lessons during Katrina, and have put those lessons to use in this storm. 
   
   Residents of New Orleans during Katrina saw top-to-bottom failures at every level, experts said. 
   
   During Harvey, "state and local officials and FEMA were mobilizing, water rescue teams were prepared, in anticipation of this," said Fugate, adding that safe shelters were almost immediately in place for Texas residents, unlike New Orleans. "That provided faster rescues." 
   
   One other thing seems to have helped Houston in its time of need: the residents themselves. 
   
   "Neighbors helping neighbors," Fugate said. "That will keep the death toll down." 
   
   ___ 
   
   Follow Tamara Lush on Twitter at Http://twitter.com/tamaralush
target: – A Facebook warning from emergency management officials in Texas' Tyler County shows just how dire the effects of Harvey continue to be. Citing rising flood levels, the post late Wednesday warned everyone in affected areas to evacuate immediately. "Anyone who chooses to not heed this directive cannot expect to be rescued and should write their social security numbers in permanent marker on their arm so their bodies can be identified," the message read, per the Houston Chronicle. "The loss of life and property is certain," it continued. The final words read, "GET OUT OR DIE!” though they have since been removed. In Fort Bend County, officials also announced mandatory evacuation orders near Buffalo Bayou early Thursday, per the AP. Harvey, downgraded from a tropical storm to a tropical depression late Wednesday, is still expected to deliver 4 to 8 inches of rain into parts of Texas and Louisiana as well as Tennessee and Kentucky through Friday. The death toll continues to climb and now stands at 38, reports the New York Times. "The sad thing is, of the deaths we've seen, we're going to see more," the deputy director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness tells the AP. "That number doesn't stop moving up until we're well into the recovery phase." With floodwaters receding in Houston, officials have begun searching thousands of flooded homes for bodies. The effort could take up to two weeks with 911 centers still fielding more than 1,000 calls per hour, the AP reports.