The bodies of five other soldiers had been found a day earlier, bringing the military death toll to nine after their vehicle flipped over in a flood-swollen creek last Thursday at the Fort Hood army post in central Texas. “We’re looking at a situation where our citizens will be at least inconvenienced for many days, maybe a week, maybe longer if we get the rain they’re calling for”, he said.
Advertisement
Three soldiers were rescued and were hospitalized in stable condition.
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice on Friday began evacuating about 1,700 inmates at its Ramsey unit in Rosharon, about 50km south of Houston, because of flooding along the Brazos River.
The Brazos River reached a record high Friday morning near Glen Rose and the runoff from heavy rain is pushing lake levels to near record highs. Alan Spears is with Fort Bend County Emergency Management.
The National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning for parts of east Texas and Louisiana on Thursday and placed most of Texas on a flash flood watch due to a slow-moving storm system expected to linger through the weekend.
Army aircraft, canine search teams, swift-water rescue watercraft and heavy trucks were being used in the search.
Jones says rainfall accumulations of 2 to 4 inches will be common, with isolated areas receiving 5 to 8 inches. But with more rain on the way, it could be weeks before water levels return to normal. This morning, so many of those who evacuated are waking up in shelters. He declared a state of disaster in 31 Texas counties on Wednesday, mobilizing state resources to help manage the disaster.
This week’s storms are the latest in a string of torrential rains since May 2015 that have put swaths of the state underwater. The area will be getting more rain today and tomorrow, but hoping to dry up some on Sunday.
Advertisement
The rising Colorado River was expected to cause minor flooding in the coming days around Bastrop and La Grange, cities located southeast of Austin, according to the National Weather Service.
