From KCRW in Santa Monica and PRI, Public Radio International, this is To the Point.

Tropical Storm Harvey is in a class of its own.

Hello again, I'm a Rinaldi, and this is To the Point.

The rain in Texas continues to set national records.

Flood waters are still rising, and rescue efforts may last not just for days, but for weeks

into the future. Some 13 million people live in zones either flooded already or underflood

watch with a trillion gallons of water inundating Harris County in just four days. President Trump

flew in for a briefing in Corpus Christi

as federal agencies joined state and local responders along with civilians. We'll hear how one family

waited in chest deep water pulling an aging relative on a rubber mattress. Later on today's

talking point, violence is not the main cause for undocumented immigration from Central America, after all.

It's hunger. First, here's the news.

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Hello again, Mormon. I'll be back with To the Point. A challenge to conventional wisdom.

It's more hunger than violence that's driving so many Central Americans to the United States.

Still, others are here legally as refugees from Hurricane Mitch in 1999, but their relief will be running out early next year.

We'll hear more about that on our talking point later on in our program.

First, the continuing disaster in Texas.

President Trump got a briefing today in Corpus Christi, far from operations in Houston

that might be disrupted by a visit from the commander-in-chief.

...