Tropical Storm Beta weakened to a tropical depression on Tuesday as it crawled inland along the Texas coast to the south of Houston, unleashing heavy rain, flooding streets, and forcing emergency workers to rescue dozens of people.
Rain submerged roads in the nation's fourth-most populous city, leaving cars stranded in deep waters, shutting schools, offices, courts and energy shipping ports.
Houston Fire Chief, Samuel Pena said there had been more than 60 rescues and evacuations of people in floods caused by Beta. Most of the rescues had been from vehicles stalled out on inundated streets, Pena said.
"Stay home," said Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner. "Just stay home. That will help you and help us. Do not try to drive through this high water."
The port of Houston began to reopen at noon to vessel traffic with some restrictions, the U.S. Coast Guard said.
The centre of the storm is currently located around 60 kilometres (40 miles) to the southwest of Galveston, Texas. The winds have dropped to around 45 kilometres per hour (30 miles per hour).
Flooding remains the main concern, especially across southeast Texas and southern Louisiana. The National Hurricane Center said that rainfall totals of up to 355 millimetres (14 inches) have been reported so far and some parts could see a further 100 to 200mm (4 to 8 inches) over the next few days.
Swells generated by a combination of Beta and a cold front over the northern Gulf of Mexico will continue along the coasts of Louisiana and Texas into the weekend. These swells are likely to cause life-threatening floods and rip currents.
Elsewhere, eastern Canada's Maritime Provinces are braced for the arrival of Hurricane Teddy. Forecasters are tracking the system which has now been downgraded to a tropical depression.
The storm passed to the east of Bermuda early in the week and remains out in the open waters moving on a northerly path towards Nova Scotia, bringing heavy rains, strong winds and destructive waves.
Recent satellite imagery shows Teddy in the northern Atlantic, churning close to the Canadian coast.
