HOUSTON - More than 30,000 people are in flood shelters and some 500,000 will need home repairs as Houston, Texas deals with Tropical Storm Harvey.

Thousands of rescues took place throughout the greater Houston area Monday. While some people were picked up from their roofs via helicopter, Nichole Davenport says she rode out of her Houston neighborhood in a dump truck.

"We walked about two miles in waist high water, wait eight hours and sleep there," Davenport said.

Volunteer rescuers were in full force, as members of Louisiana's Cajun Navy joined forces with a legion of Houston area boat owners. The crews rescued neighbors and answered desperate pleas for help posted on social media.

"There's several people that needed to be rescued and were just here to help. We're just unloading the boats here where the water is high. It's a rally point where everyone is putting in," one flood victim said.

The flood waters have forced oil refineries to shut down, and residents in La Porte, Texas sheltered in place for several hours after a chemical leak at an area plant.

Officials called for new evacuations Monday night in neighborhoods near levees that are in danger of breaching.

Downtown Houston hotels filled up with first responders and flood victims who had abandoned their vehicles on the highway.

"We can't get back to humble where we live so we're waiting on it to go down," one flood victim said.

Parts of the Houston area were cut off by flood waters, literally making islands where fuel and food are scarce.

"We're just trying to keep our composure," one store owner said. "We're getting hit pretty hard."