Officials say a levee near a subdivision of homes in a county south of Houston has been breached and water is pouring into the area.

Brazoria County posted this message on Twitter on Tuesday morning:

Brazoria County Judge Matt Sebesta says that the water has come over the levee in the northeast part of the subdivision and is starting to fill the area.

He says residents were told that at some point the levee would be “overtopped.” He said that a mandatory evacuation order was issued Sunday.

Sebesta says there are hundreds of homes there. He says hopefully “very few” are still in the area.

A pair of 70-year-old reservoir dams that protect downtown Houston from flooding began overflowing Tuesday, adding to the rising floodwaters from Harvey that have crippled the city after five consecutive days of rain.

Engineers began releasing water from the Addicks and Barker reservoirs Monday to ease the strain on the dams.

But the releases were not enough to relieve the pressure after one of the heaviest downpours in U.S. history, Army Corps of Engineers officials said. Both reservoirs are at record highs.

The release of the water means that more homes and streets will flood, and some homes will be inundated for up to a month, said Jeff Lindner of the Harris County Flood Control District.

The county is trying to determine where the water will go, Lindner said.

Flooding continues to be a problem and there are new evacuation orders for the city of Houston

President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania are on their way to Texas to assess the damage.

They are expected to be in Corpus Christi, one of the first areas Harvey struck last week.

Trump is not expected to visit the areas still being impacted by the storm. But he is expected to make stops in Corpus Christi and Austin.

This as people in Houston are still being rescued and still trying to find places to go.

Desperate rescue operations are underway Tuesday morning across flood-ravaged southeast Texas.

At least 3,000 people were rescued yesterday alone, but countless others are still stranded in their homes.

"They keep telling us. I guess now that there's a mandatory evacuation around the area all the roads are closed. There's really no way to get out," said Jamie Baxter in a phone interview. Baxter is stranded in an apartment with a neighbor.

First responders, the U.S. Coast guard and the entire Texas National Guard have been deployed. Authorities are overwhelmed with calls for help.

"The biggest issue we have right now is time (and) getting to everyone we need to get to," said Col. Steven Metze, a public affairs officer with the Texas National Guard.

Citizens are taking action with their own boats.

"They would be on the second story screaming out loud at us. We could hear them over the load motors of the airboats," said volunteer rescuer Chad Petere. 

About 8,000 people are estimated to be staying in shelters across the city and authorities expect the number of evacuees to grow to least 30,000.

More than 2 feet of rain has already fallen and at another 2 feet could fall in the coming days. Rivers and waterways have begun cresting.

"I think we have to prepare ourselves for a circumstance similar to Katrina," said Texas U.S. Congressman Al Green, a Democrat.

Trump will travel to disaster areas in Texas, promising the government will do everything it can to help.

Louisiana is next to feel the brunt of Tropical Storm Harvey, where Trump has already declared state of emergency.

In the meantime, Tropical Storm Harvey turned toward the northeast and more slow forward speed is expected Tuesday afternoon and evening. That forecast track brings the center of Harvey just offshore of the middle and upper coasts of Texas through Tuesday night and then moving inland over the northwestern Gulf coast on Wednesday. The winds are near 45 mph.

Tropical Storm Warnings remain in effect from the Central Texas coast to the Central Louisiana cost. No change in strength is forecast during the next 48 hours. An additional 10 to 15 inches of rain possible from northeast Texas to Louisiana.

Harvey continues tapping Gulf moisture, fueling bands of intense rain and occasionally rotating thunderstorms; isolated tornadoes remain a threat within any of these bands. Winds remain at 45 mph, keeping Harvey Tropical Storm status.

On this track, it will hover offshore through Tuesday night before moving back onshore Wednesday along the eastern coast. Harvey is expected to linger over East Texas through midweek. Until the system departs, the Lone Star State will be facing off and on bands of heavy rain, especially to the east of Interstate 35.

Tropical storm force winds still extend outward up to 175 miles from the Center of Harvey. Breezy conditions are expected locally with gusts more than 35 mph possible at times.

The Houston metro area has felt the brunt of the heaviest rainfall with nearly three feet measured since Friday. Houston International Airport typically sees an average of 49.77 inches in a year; since June 1, more than 46 inches of rain has been measured, therefore nearly a year’s worth of rain has fallen in three months.

Meantime, President Donald Trump will visit Texas on Tuesday to get a look at the damage from Harvey.

The president and the First Lady will land in Corpus Christi late Tuesday morning and then they will head to Austin in the afternoon.

State leaders are expected to brief Trump on the recovery efforts.

At around 5 a.m., Potential Tropical Cyclone 10 was centered near latitude 33.5 North, longitude 78.5 West, just of the Carolina coast. The system is moving northeast near 12 mph.

It is expected to turn toward the east-northeast and accelerate during the next couple of days. The expected track will take the system along the North Carolina coast Tuesday before moving out to sea tonight.

Tropical storm warnings and watches are up along the Carolina coast. The winds remain near 40 mph. Not much change expected in strength Tuesday and the chances for the system to become a tropical cyclone are decreasing.  

The Associated Press has contributed to this story.