A deadline has passed with no resolution over whether Texas will settle a dispute over claims it discriminated against minority residents in how it distributed flood relief money from Hurricane Harvey.

Tropical Storm Nicholas has weakened to a tropical depression as it slowed to a crawl over southeastern Texas and southwestern Louisiana as its heavy rains continued to drench the area, maintaining a flood threat.

Two years later and in some ways, Texas is still reeling from the historic and catastrophic Hurricane Harvey.

Texas officials on Thursday, March, 25, 2021 raised the death toll from February's winter storm and blackouts to at least 111 people nearly doubling the state's initial tally following one of the worst power outages in U.S. history. (AP Photo/LM Otero File)AUSTIN, Texas – Texas officials on Thursday raised the death toll from February's winter storm and blackouts to at least 111 people — nearly doubling the state's initial tally following one of the worst power outages in U.S. history. The majority of the Texas deaths are associated with hypothermia, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. The toll now officially exceeds that of Hurricane Harvey in 2017, which was blamed for 68 deaths in Texas. Among them was Gilbert Rivera, 60, who told relatives after the power went out in his garage apartment that he was cold but staying bundled up.

The state took over the program this week and Torres and other residents who have applied for assistance say they’re worried that could lead to yet more delays. A third of the funding — nearly $428 million — went to a program for home repair and reconstruction. Harvey dumped up to 50 inches (1.3 meters) of rain on the Houston area following landfall on Aug. 25, 2017. In the Houston area, Harvey flooded more than 150,000 homes, with more than 16,000 residents identified as potentially needing repair help. In its own program, the land office has fixed more than 2,000 homes and has approved nearly 2,900 reimbursements statewide.

But regardless where you’re located or what types of weather your region regularly experiences, it’s always best to remain vigilant. When it comes to hurricanes and big storms, there’s always so much talk about how to prepare the insides of our homes. Therefore, it’s always better to err on the side of caution, he added. “There’s nothing wrong with being too careful.”So, the next time a big storm’s coming to town, walk around the exterior of your house, your property or your yard. You could even turn this into a project, moving just a few belongings a day, leading up to the storm.

HOUSTON - The weakening remnants of Imelda will make their way Friday into northern Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana as misery lingers in Houston, even as floodwaters start to recede. At least one barge struck the westbound bridge along Interstate 10, Texas Department of Transportation spokesman Danny Perez said. And in Jefferson County, 19-year-old Hunter Morrison died when he was electrocuted, then drowned, while trying to move his horse, according to a statement from his family posted at the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office's Facebook page. Some areas in neighboring Jefferson County saw a whopping 43 inches of rain. In Beaumont, a city in Jefferson County, neighborhoods turned into lakes and roads looked more like streams.