A Carlow teenager who is battling a rare form of cancer has found herself caught up in flooding caused by Hurricane Harvey in the US.
19-year-old Shauntelle Tynan from Graiguecullen in Carlow was in Houston receiving treatment at the Texas Children's Hospital.
However, she and her family are now stranded in their apartment after massive flooding in the area.
Her mother says Shauntelle needs a blood transfusion urgently and they are waiting for her to be airlifted to hospital.
The Texas state flag and American flag wave in the wind over an area of debris left behind in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, 27-08-2017. Image: AP Photo/Eric Gay
Flood shelters
Meanwhile, officials say they expect up to 30,000 people to be forced into shelters because of the flooding.
Water has reached the second floor of some buildings and people are being told to wait on the roof for rescue teams.
The storm is set to dump more rain on the city today – with forecasters warning the flooding will peak on Wednesday and Thursday.
To make matters worse, the US Army Corps which has been helping the flood relief effort say it will be forced to release water from two reservoirs near the city into a bayou running through Houston.
"If we don't release now, the volume of uncontrolled water around the dams will be higher and have a greater impact on the surrounding communities," said Colonel Lars Zetterstrom.
The head of the US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Brock Long, has described the worst flooding in Texas in 50 years as a "landmark event."
He said stabilising disaster survivors is now the priority – in addition to the ongoing search and rescue work.
“Once we move them, we are able to extract them from different areas and rescue them.
“We have got to get them into shelters.
Two people are confirmed to have died in the flooding so far - including a woman who tried to get out of her car in high water in Harris County.
The Houston Chronicle has reported that six people had died.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott said conditions were "bad and growing worse" as National Guard troops were deployed to the city overnight.
He said damage was in "the billions of dollars" and there had been 1,000 water rescues.
