The United States city of Houston has imposed an overnight curfew since Tuesday night to prevent incidents of looting and armed robberies, as it battles the impact of Hurricane Harvey, Reuters reported quoting city officials. The curfew will run from 10 pm to 5 am local time, said Mayor Sylvester Turner.

“You cannot drive, nor be in any public place. We have had problems with armed robberies, with people with guns and firearms,” Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo advised citizens on Tuesday.

Turner said Houston is opening additional emergency centres to prevent overcrowding at the convention centre, which has currently provided refuge to 10,000 people. Some of them will be moved to a nearby basketball court and a concert hall. There will be two more shelters – one on the city’s west side, where 3,000 people have been affected, and another in Humble, Texas.