The impact of Harvey’s wrath, by the numbers

Since coming ashore last Friday, Hurricane Harvey has unleashed a wave of mayhem, death and destruction, setting and breaking records for rainfall, rescues and recovery. Here’s some of what we know by the numbers.

More than 20

The death toll, as of Wednesday. It includes Sgt. Steve Perez, 60, a 34-year veteran of the Houston Police Department, who drowned in his car on the way to work. Emergency officials said the number of dead was expected to rise.

A Houston Police Department officer helps Frank Andrews, 74, into his walking chair after rescuing him from his flooded home in the Braeswood Place neighborhood southwest of Houston. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

8,500

The number of rescues the Texas National Guard has made so far in the Houston area, according to the Texas governor’s office. At least 4,200 people have been saved by the U.S. Coast Guard, and urban rescue teams from the Federal Emergency Management Agency have saved at least 2,500. Thousands more people have been saved by other entities, including the Houston Police Department, the Harris County Sheriff’s Department and private citizens.

51.12

The inch-count of water recorded Tuesday in the Mont Belvieu suburb east of Houston since Harvey’s arrival last Friday. The measurement breaks the highest previous record of 48 inches for a single storm on the U.S. mainland, from Tropical Storm Amelia in Medina, Texas, in 1978.

Motor homes are left strewn about the Driftwood RV Park the day after Hurricane Harvey struck Rockport, Texas. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

28,000

The area in square miles that Harvey had flooded by Monday in the Houston area, according to early estimates by Brad Kieserman, vice president of disaster services operations and logistics for the American Red Cross. “That's the size of Lake Michigan,” Kieserman said.

32,000

The estimated number of people displaced from their homes and taking refuge in temporary shelters as of early Wednesday, according to Texas state and emergency officials. Red Cross officials said they expected that number could swell.

A woman sorts through clothing donated for those who have taken shelter at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston because of Hurricane Harvey. (Molly Hennessy-Fiske / Los Angeles Times)

(Molly Hennessy-Fiske / Los Angeles Times)

56,000

The number of calls for help Houston 911 operators had received by Monday morning. Many more are likely to have come in since then.

450,000

The number of people likely to seek federal disaster assistance, according to FEMA.

Tens of billions

Some of the estimates, in dollars, of Harvey’s potential price-tag, including insurance payouts for destroyed property, economic losses and infrastructure repair. Some analysts predict the cost of the storm could surpass $100 billion.

Special correspondent Jenny Jarvie and Los Angeles Times staff writer Molly Hennessy-Fiske contributed to this report from Houston.