Early Thursday morning, officials of Beaumont, Texas, announced the city lost both the primary and secondary sources for its water supply system.
“Due to rising waters of the Neches River caused by Tropical Storm Harvey, the City of Beaumont has lost service from the main pump station,” Beaumont fire rescue captain Brad Penisson said in a statement.
Located near the Louisiana border on the Gulf Coast, the city of nearly 120,000 residents will be without water until after floodwaters recede and officials can analyze the extent of the damage.
“There is no way to determine how long this will take at this time,” Penisson said.
On Monday, Mayor Becky Ames issued a voluntary evacuation for residents close to Pine Island Bayou to the north of the city, but it is unknown how many residents remained in Beaumont during the storm.
Baptist Beaumont Hospital issued a statement after the city’s water system failure, saying it will transfer patients “to other acute care facilities,” according to KBMT reporter Ezzy Castro.
“We have no other alternatives but to discontinue all services which will unfortunately include emergency services,” the hospital said.
Beaumont police have confirmed two storm-related fatalities as of Wednesday morning.