Before-and-after visuals of the massive flooding in Texas

Aerial photography from Aug. 30

New aerial imagery from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has begun to reveal the extent of flooding in the area around Houston’s Addicks and Barker reservoirs. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began a controlled release of water into surrounding areas on Monday, though uncontrolled water began spilling over the Addicks Dam the next day.

[What the flooding and rescues of Hurricane Harvey look like, in videos]

How quickly the waters rose

More than 9 trillion gallons of rain have fallen across the greater Houston area and Southeast Texas in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. These photos, taken mostly from high-rise buildings or drones, begin to show the enormous scale of the flooding throughout the Houston area.

[Rains from Harvey obliterate records, flood disaster to expand]

Unprecedented flooding

Southeast Texas saw nearly three feet of rainfall, in what the National Weather Service called “catastrophic flooding.”

Many bayous that weave through the city of Houston had overflown, filling parks, freeways and parking lots with water.

[What the flooding and rescues of Hurricane Harvey look like, in videos]

The draining process

Early Monday morning, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began releasing water from two Houston dams because water levels in their reservoirs were rising more than half a foot per hour.

The images below, captured by traffic cameras, show the I-610 East Loop near Jacinto City. The 12-lane highway was covered by water on Sunday morning, but by Monday afternoon the lanes were visible again.

[Houston releases water from two dams in attempt to prevent ‘uncontrolled’ overflow]

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