South African family trapped in their home by Houston flooding

It's been four days since a South African expat family has seen the outside of their waterlogged home after they were caught up in tropical storm Harvey‚ which hit the coast of Texas at the weekend - bringing with it floods‚ death and destruction.

The Chetty family - who relocated to Houston‚ Texas‚ from Durban seven years ago - have been holed up in their home helplessly watching the water levels rise and devastation unfold around them. They live in the suburb of Bellaire‚ which is one of many areas experiencing flooding.

According to CNN.com there is no indication the water will stop rising anytime soon. Federal officials‚ according to the news site‚ have predicted that Harvey will drive 30‚000 people into shelters and spur 450‚000 victims to seek some sort of disaster assistance.

Four storm-related deaths have been confirmed.

Sharon Chetty‚ said she - along with her husband Mark and their son Rushil - have not had much sleep since the weather turned nasty on Friday. They have had to hide in their cupboards several times‚ as tornado warnings were sounded.

“I don’t even know where to start. There’s so much devastation and destruction and feelings of hopelessness‚” Chetty told TimesLIVE.

“We’ve been in our home since Friday - there is water everywhere and every time we think the rain is stopping‚ it starts up again.”

Chetty said the family was counting their blessings “as we live in a home that’s elevated by at least three feet‚ but our friends and neighbours are not so lucky".

But the family can’t leave their house because the streets are waterlogged.

“The flow of the water is like a river and very dangerous.”

Chetty heeded warning from news channels about the storm and stocked up on food supplies.

“But our concern is losing electricity and we are being told to conserve using the toilets and washers as the water outlets are reaching capacity and may overflow causing massive problems.”

For now the family will remain in their two-storey home‚ but if the water levels continue to rise‚ they - like thousands of other residents - may require authorities to rescue them.

Trapped residents trapped have been asked to hang white sheets outside their homes if they need to be rescued.

“We are lucky to have a two story house‚ so we will have to wait it out on the second floor if its gets worse. It’s surreal‚ and when I look out the window‚ it’s like a scene from a movie‚” said Chetty.

She has seen people in small boats outside her home‚ trying to rescue residents in need.

CNN.com reported that the US Coast Guard received up to 1‚000 calls per hour and rescued over three thousand people using boats and aircraft.