HOUSTON, Sept 9 (Reuters) - Houston residents attempting to return to flooded homes after Hurricane Harvey should wear breathing masks against bacteria from the city's sewers and watch for alligators and snakes, the city fire chief said on Saturday. City fire chief Samuel Pena, speaking at a town hall at the Westin Houston hotel on Saturday, said residents should wear breathing masks and consider tetanus shots because Houston's sewer system flooded and leaked. That's left about 70,000 people without water because their drinking water systems were inoperable, damaged or destroyed, a TCEQ spokeswoman said. In addition, there were another 161 drinking water systems with boil-water notices serving about 380,000 people, she said. About a third of the state's public drinking water systems, or about 2,238 systems, were affected by Hurricane Harvey, TCEQ and EPA said.

Source: Huffington Post September 09, 2017 20:37 UTC