A fast-moving storm packing heavy rain and destructive winds overwhelmed rivers and prompted evacuations Friday in the same area southwest of Austin that saw devastating spring floods.
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The Houston area was among the hardest hit.
Houston received about 12 inches of rain since Friday, which caused widespread flooding. The city’s Office of Emergency Management said the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences is investigating and will release details once the cause of deaths is confirmed.
In Floresville, about 30 miles (48 km) southeast of San Antonio, a high school wall was ripped apart by high winds that also tossed a recreational vehicle trailer onto the roof of a hotel, TV video from the area showed. As a result, at least two people were hurt while more than two dozen mobile homes were damaged. “This one you can see has been split right open from the roof”, KPRC reports.
Near San Antonio, U.S. Army officials said the body of an individual, who was washed downstream when a vehicle was picked up by fast moving flood waters, was found on Friday afternoon on Camp Bullis.
Meanwhile, widespread flooding was reported Friday in central Texas districts such as Wimberley, the San Marcos and Blanco rivers in San Marcos and along the Guadalupe River near Seguin.
The Austin Fire Department, amid a busy day of 478 calls by 4 p.m., reported 14 water rescues and 44 “flood assists”.
David McCullough, 70, who lived in a house severely damaged by the storm in the suburb of Friendswood, said: “I feel like it’s a blessing that we weren’t here”.
The storms were deadly in south-central Texas, with the bodies of a man in his 30s and an elderly woman recovered Saturday in Travis County, according to Commander Michael Benavides with the Austin-Travis County EMS.
The National Weather Service says strong winds struck around 5 a.m. Saturday in Brazoria County, near Alvin. Two people died when they were swept away by flood waters, and a man and a woman also were still unaccounted for in separate incidents.
During the downpour, residents scrambled to higher ground or sought safety at emergency shelters.
“A lot of the feeder roads are under water and we have a few bayous that are out of their banks, contributing to the flooding around the city”, Blood said.
The National Weather Service says tornadoes caused damage in three Houston-area communities.
More than 16 inches of rain soaked one neighborhood on Friday and Austin Bergstrom global Airport suspended all flights after a half-foot of water flooded the air traffic control tower; 40 flights were canceled there on Saturday.
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Two other bodies were recovered Friday amid heavy rain and flooding in the San Antonio and Austin areas.
