Editor's Note: This story will be updated continuously. Please check back for the latest information on how to help. Waterway Guide is also asking helpers and victims who want to tell their story to send photos and information to News@waterwayguide.com.

Hurricane Harvey has left tens of thousands of residents in Texas stranded and in danger due to massive flooding. The boating community there, and in neighboring states, has stepped in to bolster official rescue efforts in the affected regions.

The makeshift Cajun Navy of Louisiana, which formed during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, is at the forefront of the civilian boating rescue effort in Texas.

UPDATES:

• Port of Corpus Christi closed
• Ports of Houston, Galveston and Freeport open with restrictions.
• GIWW between miles 668-441 WHL closed.
• Residents of Port Arthur posted urgent pleas for rescue on social media Wednesday as the Texas city struggled to function after days of hammering rains from Tropical Storm Harvey.

  The city was slammed by more than two feet of rain over a 24-hour period, flooding the civic center that had been serving as a shelter for more than 100 flood victims. A community center then was set up for evacuees.

• AUSTIN – The waterway ban for the City of Austin was lifted Tuesday morning, effective as of 10 a.m.

  

   

  The ban included all creeks in the City of Austin, Barton Creek, Lady Bird Lake/Town Lake, the entirety of Lake Austin and the Colorado River downstream of Longhorn Dam. AFD added Kerr reserves the right to reinstitute the ban should conditions warrant such an action.

• The Corpus Christi Marina is open and ready to assist displaced live aboard boaters. Call (361) 826-3980.

• The U.S. Coast Guard in Houston has set up a hotline number for volunteers to call for updates, information and current protocols - (713) 881-3100. However, it does take patience to get through on this overloaded line. When Waterway Guide staff attempted to call the number, 14 tries over the course of two hours yielded a busy signal. When it did ring there was no response, or recording.
• See the latest list of road and waterway closures in Louisiana.
• Latest, continually updating, list of evacutaions and safe routes for the greater Houston area. 

Waterway Guide will continue to gather the news and vital information for both rescue boaters and those in need.

Late Sunday afternoon in Houston, the mayor, Sylvester Turner, said that local police and fire officials had received six thousand calls for rescue, and more than a thousand people had successfully been saved, many plucked from roofs and attics. Turner said that 911 operators had received more than fifty-six thousand calls since the storm began. “We have not been able to keep up with all of the 911 calls that are coming in,” he said at a briefing. “But it is our intent to respond and to take in anyone that calls.”

Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo told reporters Monday that officers have rescued roughly 2,000 people in the city — out of about 4,000 water-related calls for assistance — since the storm came ashore Friday evening.

Federal Emergency Management Agency Director Brock Long said at a news conference Monday that as many as 50 counties in Texas are expected to be affected in some form by the storm's floodwaters, a situation that he says has demanded the agency "help bolster the efforts to do swift water rescue, search and rescue over a huge county jurisdiction."

The Walkie-Talkie App

The phone app Zello Walkie-Talkie is being used as a primary form of immediate communication by the Cajun Navy and others in the disaster zone, according to the Cajun Navy's Twitter feed postings.

Zello is a free push-to-talk application for smartphones, tablets, and PCs. It's lightweight, easy to use and extremely fast. Better yet, it's free and will remain free for personal use.

Over 65 million users have downloaded Zello on Android, iPhone, Windows Phone, BlackBerry or PC.

Rescue Website

For residents of Houston, a civilian rescuer decided to make a website to help those in need of aid and rescuers by simplifying the rescue process. This website is called www.houstonharveyrescue.com.

This site asks for some basic, simple, information to help rescue personnel by getting the info over instead of broadcasting it over the Zello walkie talkie app. There is also an interactive map that shows where each and every rescue is taking place and shows those still in need.

The site allows visitors to sign in as someone willing to effect a rescue or as someone in need of rescue. If you have a friend or loved one who needs help you can list them on the site.

These civilian efforts are happening in addition to the U.S. Coast Guard and the National Guard and local official rescue efforts.

"Every Coast Guard asset available" is being used to respond, Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Paul Zukunft said. "But," he cautioned, "there are conditions where it is just not safe to fly."

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott activated the state's entire National Guard on Monday, saying roughly 12,000 guard members will be deployed to respond to Harvey. Initially, about 3,000 national and state guard members had been deployed.

"We love Texas and will do what we can to help y'all," the administrators for the Cajun Navy Facebook page posted with the above information. "Texas was here for us before and we love our Texas folks."