Several Austin neighborhoods were evacuated early Friday morning, KXAN.com reported, and drivers were being asked to stay off roads in Bastrop County due to the risky situation unfolding as waters continue to rise along the Colorado River and cover roadways. Patty Ponzio told KHOU-TV.
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Other parts of the USA got drenched Friday as well, especially in central Kansas, where the Wichita Eagle reports that an 11-year-old boy went missing after he was swept away by a swollen creek. Bryan officials said 153 homes were damaged, including 53 with major damage.
The areas of biggest concern are east-central Kansas, which will see anywhere from an additional 1 to 2 inches of rain this afternoon, plus the area from Waco, Texas, north to Dallas, and over to Shreveport, Louisiana, which is anticipated to get an additional 3 or more inches throughout the day.
Mobile homes washed away in the flooding and multiple houses had water inside, he said.
The two missing people had called dispatchers to say they were trapped in vehicles on both Gayhill Road and Myersville Road. A tree went through one homeowner’s roof.
Officials in Wichita say they’ll resume the search for an 11-year-old boy who fell into a rain-swollen creek and was swept away. Bastrop County residents were warned to stay off the streets and 120 homes were evacuated early Friday.
He said about 40 children spent the night at a Brenham elementary school after buses were unable to get them home. He says more than 100 county roads are barricaded and some roads had washed out.
In Travis County, nine people were rescued by helicopter from homes and vehicles.
“It’s not going to take very much rain to get us in those flood stages again”, said John Brieden, a judge in Washington County, Texas, where more than 16.5 inches of rain fell in places Thursday.
People attempting to watch the flooding had to be rescued, the National Weather Service said.
Video from the county’s aerial emergency medical service of some of the rescues showed people who had climbed to their homes’ roofs being pulled up to a rescue helicopter flying above their houses, which were surrounded by water.
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Brieden also said two motorists are missing in separate parts of the rural county: One vehicle was located without its driver, and the other vehicle can’t be found. Brieden says the fear is that it may be submerged and won’t be located until floodwaters recede.
