The one photo that shows the devastation of Hurricane Harvey

The city of Houston, Texas has been left devastated by Hurricane Harvey.

The tropical storm has unleashed a year’s worth of rain in the span of a week on the city, which is the fourth most populous in the United States.

Six people have died in the flooding, with another 50,000 ordered to leave southern parts of Houston, where the Brazos River was set to burst it's banks.

The chaos and damage that the storm has caused can only be partially summed up with the figures, but this image of a highway perhaps summarises the situation.

More than 3,000 national guard troops have been deployed to Houston but some areas are so badly effected that emergency crews simply cannot reach them.

The director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, William Long, has already called the worst disaster in the history of Texas.

This will be a devastating disaster, probably the worst disaster the state’s seen.

People have shared more photos on Twitter which highlight the magnitude of the epidemic at hand.

President Donald Trump has declared that he will be visiting Texas soon but the situation is only likely to worsen as more rainfall is expected.

We’re measuring rain these days not in inches but in feet.

Governor Greg Abbot told Fox Newsadding;

All we can do is to provide as many resources as possible to save as many lives as we can.

The city has gone into complete shut down as travelling by any means other than boat has become impossible.

One of the most distressing stories was the report that fifteen elderly residents had been left stranded at the La Vita Bella nursing home in Dickinson, Texas.

After several pleas and tweets from author Timothy J. McIntosh all 15 were airlifted from the building by the National Guard and Galveston City Emergency.

The hurricane has hit more than 150 miles of the area surrounding Texas, with predictions stating that there could be at least 50 inches of water in coastal locations by the end of the week.

Michael Palmer, the lead meterologist at the Weather Channel gave a grim outlook on the coming days.

This is a life-threatening situation.

The flooding is only going to get worse as we go forward.

People walk through the flooded waters of Telephone Rd. in Houston.

Picture: AFP/Getty Images

Evacuation residents from the Meyerland area walk onto an I-610 overpass for further help during the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey.

Picture: AFP/Getty Images

A vehicle lies submerged on the closed I-10 highway.

Picture: AFP/Getty Images

The theatre district of Houston.

Picture: AFP/Getty Images

A lorry lies on it's side on Highway 59 near Edna, Texas, south of Houston.

Picture: AFP/Getty Images

Damage to the First Baptist Church of Rockport.

Picture: AFP/Getty Images

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