HOUSTON — Nearly a week after Harvey crashed into the Texas coastline, the storm chased more people from their homes Friday after dumping heavy rain on Louisiana, and residents of a Texas city with no drinking water waited in a line that extended for more than a mile to get bottled water.

The remnants of the storm were dissipating as they pushed deeper inland, but the system remained powerful enough to raise the risk of flooding as far north as Indiana.

Officials in Texas said at least 46 deaths are believed to have been caused by the hurricane, and cautioned that the number could still rise as searches continued. Rescue workers on Friday continued a block-by-block survey of tens of thousands of Houston homes.

Houston’s mayor, Sylvester Turner, pleaded for more high-water vehicles and more search-and-rescue equipment as the nation’s fourth-largest city continued looking for survivors or bodies that might have escaped notice.

Turner also asked the Federal Emergency Management Agency to provide more workers to process applications from thousands of people seeking government help.

President Trump has sent lawmakers an initial request for a $7.9 billion down payment toward relief and recovery efforts.

The request, expected to be swiftly approved by Congress, would add $7.4 billion to rapidly dwindling FEMA disaster aid coffers and $450 million to finance disaster loans for small businesses.

Republican leaders are already making plans to use the aid package, certain to be overwhelmingly popular, to win speedy approval of a contentious increase in the federal borrowing limit.

That approach ignores objections from House conservatives who are insisting that disaster money for Harvey should not be paired with the debt limit increase.

More than 1,500 people were staying at shelters in Louisiana, and that number was climbing as more people evacuate from flood-ravaged communities in Texas. The state opened a seventh shelter Friday in Shreveport for up to 2,400 people, said Shauna Sanford, a spokeswoman for Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards.

The city of Beaumont, home to almost 120,000 people near the Texas-Louisiana line, was trying to bring in enough bottled water for people who stayed behind after a water pumping station was overwhelmed by the Neches River.

Another fire broke out Friday at a flood-crippled chemical plant near Houston, where the loss of power set off explosions and a fire Thursday. The owners of the Arkema Inc. plant had warned that more explosions could follow because a loss of refrigeration was causing chemicals stored there to degrade.

In Houston, officials turned their attention to immediate needs such as finding temporary housing for those in shelters, but also to the city’s long-term recovery, which will take years and billions of dollars.

The latest statewide damage surveys revealed the staggering extent of the destruction.

An estimated 156,000 structures in Harris County are flooded, according to the flood control district for the county, which includes Houston. Jeff Lindner, a meteorologist for the agency, called that a conservative estimate. It is 36,000 more homes than were flooded by Tropical Storm Allison in 1989, the area’s previous epic flood.

The Texas Department of Public Safety said more than 37,000 homes were heavily damaged and nearly 7,000 were destroyed, figures that did not include the tens of thousands of homes with minor damage.

About 325,000 people have already sought federal emergency aid in the wake of Harvey. More than $57 million in individual assistance has been paid out so far, FEMA officials said.

The Harris County Flood Control District said Friday that water must continue to be released from the Addicks and Barker reservoirs to protect their structural integrity. Water releases have contributed to house flooding.

Houston Fire Chief Sam Pena said his department had responded to nearly 16,000 calls since the storm hit Saturday, more than 7,600 of them for water rescues.

The search for more survivors and bodies began Thursday when more than 200 firefighters, police, and members of an urban search-and-rescue team fanned out across the Meyerland neighborhood.

Harris County FEMA Director Tom Fargione said the agency is looking for ways to house people who lost their homes to Harvey, with 32,000 people reported in shelters across Texas.

Some evacuees had begun returning to their homes, but the George R. Brown Convention Center, where 10,000 people took shelter, still housed 8,000 evacuees late Thursday.

Officials in Beaumont reported difficulty bringing in enough bottled water to set up distribution stations because of flooded roads.

On Friday, people waited in a line of cars that extended more than a mile at a water-distribution center at a high school football field. Each vehicle received one case. Earlier, people stood in line at a Kroger grocery store that was giving away gallon jugs of water, which were gone in two hours.

About 1,000 people who had sought shelter at the Beaumont Civic Center were flown to Dallas late Thursday. They were taken to the Hutchison Convention Center or smaller shelters.

The Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, a foundation established by Dell Technologies CEO Michael Dell and his wife, said it has pledged $36 million for Harvey relief efforts in Dell’s hometown of Houston.