Hurricane Harvey: Addicks dam outside Houston begins overspilling after reservoir goes past capacity

Rain is expected to continue throughout the week

A Houston home is surrounded by floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

A Texas flood control official has said the water level in the two area reservoirs are now over capacity and a dam is overflowing.

Harris County official Jeff Linder urged residents from six neighbourhoods near the Addicks and Barker reservoirs should leave if they can.

The Army Corps of Engineers has confirmed to a local news station that homes up river from the reservoirs are now flooding

Engineers have been periodically releasing water from area dams to relieve pressure and tried to limit the damage down to nearby homes. Some additional flooding in those areas was expected but Mr Linder said the current situation is "something we've never seen before."

They are attempting to repair the gauges on the dam which have also flooded but do not expect that the rainfall or current water levels will cause the Addicks dam to fail. It is expected to add water to the already flooded Buffalo Bayou, a major river running through the city.

Barker dam controls the Buffalo Bayou to the west of the main city.

At least two feet (.6 m) of rain is expected to fall throughout the week.

Hurricane Harvey, now downgraded to a tropical storm, first made landfall on the Gulf of Mexico coast late night on 25 August. It is now centered mostly over the Houston metropolitan area.

It is estimated that some 17,000 people have been relocated to temporary shelters, but that could go up to 30,000. At least 450,000 people are expected to ask for federal aid.

There were several reports from local news stations that designated evacuation centres were also flooding by the morning on 29 August, forcing people camping out there to be relocated once again.

Brazoria County officials also announced via Twitter later in the morning that the levee in operation at Columbia Lakes "has been breached" and have warned residents to leave the area immediately.

Donald Trump is headed to Texas with First Lady Melania Trump to survey the damage, much of which can not be assessed until rainfall stops.