Hurricane Harvey forced NASA to close the space center

The Johnson Space Center USA was forced to close down when Hurricane Harvey continued to rain down the city of Houston, Texas.

The Space Center Johnson (JSC) of the US Aeronautics and Space Agency is being closed when complicated flooding in Houston city by tropical storm Harvey caused heavy rain, SpaceNews reported on August 28.

On Twitter early on the morning of August 29, JSC announced that the center will continue to be closed when the amount of rain water recorded at the center is nearly 80cm. Except for maintaining essential human resources, JSC has stopped almost every mission.

A lady in a wheelchair was rescued from the floodwaters in east Houston on August 28.(Photo: Reuters).

Although there is no information about flooding or damage at JSC, the surrounding area is being destroyed by the flood of history when Harvey caused heavy rain. At 17:00 on August 28, the rainfall recorded at JSC is 67.1cm. Other areas in Houston have similar or greater rainfall.

Important activities at JSC such as the mission of controlling the International Space Station (ISS) are not affected by storms."Mission Control Center still operates and maintains the ability to support ISS from Houston" , JSC said on the website.

According to forecasts, the weather will not be favorable soon for JSC to return to normal operation. Over the next few days heavy rains will continue throughout the Houston area and worsen the already severe flood situation.

Super-strong Harvey level 4 landed Texas late August 25, causing heavy rain and strong winds, destroying many homes and causing serious flooding in the fourth largest US city. The storm caused at least 5 deaths and dozens of injuries. According to Houston TV station, a family of 6 people was drowned by flooding trucks.