The death toll continues to rise from Harvey, now one week since the storm slammed into the Texas coast.

Officials say 39 people have been reported dead, most from the Houston-area.

The Texas Department of Public Safety said more than 37,000 homes were heavily damaged and nearly 7,000 were destroyed, figures that did not include the tens of thousands of homes with minor damage.

About 325,000 people have already sought federal emergency aid in the wake of Harvey. More than $57 million in individual assistance has already been paid out, FEMA officials said.
Harris County FEMA director Tom Fargione said the agency was looking for ways to house people who lost their homes to Harvey, with 32,000 people reported in shelters across Texas.

Some evacuees had begun returning to their homes — the George R. Brown Convention Center, where 10,000 people took shelter, housed 8,000 evacuees late Thursday.

The blasts at the Arkema Inc. plant northeast of Houston also ignited a 30- to 40-foot (9- to 12-meter) flame and sent up a plume of acrid black smoke that stung the eyes and lungs. The blaze burned out around midday, but emergency crews held back because of the danger that eight other trailers containing the same compound could blow, too. No serious injuries were reported.

NASA astronaut Randy Bresnik, on board the International Space Station, took photographs of flooding and sent a message to those impacted by Harvey.

There is still plenty of rescue and recovery efforts going on. Florida's Gov. Rick Scott sent a tweet out about the work that the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has been doing.

Houston Texans football player, J.J. Watt has been leading the charge, raising money for victims of Harvey.

“This weekend, my teammates and I, we have semi-trucks rolling in from out of town that we've filled up,” Watt told CNN Thursday night. “We have about nine semi-trucks that are going to come into town, and we have those all filled with stock supplies, water, food, clothing, everything.”

On the You Caring website, more than $13.5 million has been raised. Locally in Central Florida, many have come together to collect donations for those impacted by Harvey.

While rescue operations continue, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner wants people to know the city is back open for business.

Harvey is still a significant rainmaker although it is losing tropical characteristics. Located near Memphis, Tenn., it will spread rain across the Tennessee valley on Friday and Ohio valley on Saturday.

Isolated tornadoes remain a threat in these areas too. Severe flooding continues in Texas and Louisiana but the steady rain has now exited these areas.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.