The historic rainfall from Hurricane Harvey had ceased by the time photo journalist and videographer Luke Abaffy and I arrived in Houston to report on the damage and recovery efforts, but the flooding was far from over. Releases from Addicks and Barker Reservoirs--which together stored over 140 billion gallons of the 1 trillion gallon rainfall total in the Houston area--were still at their peak of just over 13,000 cubic feet per second.

Neighborhoods, business parks, condominiums and freeways downstream of the dams were still underwater. As Abaffy flew his drone over the eerily quiet streets, we could see the tops of multi-story structures sticking up out of the dirty water. With some single-level homes and structures, only the roofs poked out. 

Throughout our four days reporting in Houston, the water levels slowly receded as the Army Corps of Engineers gradually tapered the water flows. Residents, business owners and contractors began returning to assess the damage and begin the arduous task of cleanup. 

Stay tuned for additional videos and dispatches related to Hurricanes Harvey and Irma.