AUSTIN, Texas -- Officials now blame at least 60 deaths on Harvey after the storm dumped many feet of rain on several counties in a matter of days.

Many of those deaths were people drowning in flash floods or water-logged roads. But county emergency management departments across southeast Texas tell The Associated Press they are including people in their storm-related death totals who died from indirect complications of Harvey.

The huge dump of water loosened the ground around trees that have fallen into at least two homes in Montgomery County and on a car in Jasper County, accounting for some of the deaths. Power outages have knocked out electricity to medical equipment that several elderly people needed to survive.

And officials say floodwaters have caused delays in responses to medical emergencies that resulted in deaths.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency says it has about 560,000 families registered for its housing assistance program.

FEMA spokeswoman Tiana Suber said if those people's homes are found to be uninhabitable or inaccessible for an extended time, they may qualify for the agency's Transitional Shelter Assistance. Some will qualify for short-term hotel lodging at FEMA expense, while others will be referred to local agencies or voluntary organizations for possible assistance.

Long said the main focus is to move people from the large shelters, where stress levels can run high. He says FEMA is tracking the families being moved from the large shelters as best as it can, but people will move in and out of those shelters.

He said FEMA's mission is changing from life-saving to life sustaining.