Six people have died and at least two more are missing in Texas after a severe storm system fired up once again in the Plains, bringing heavy rain and severe flooding to some areas.
Advertisement
Emergency officials tell us more than 100 rescues were conducted in Fort Bend County thus far, and they’re urging residents to heed evacuation notices for their safety.
About 40 people were rescued Sunday and Monday from low-lying homes in a flooded neighborhood of Simonton, a Fort Bend County community of about 800 residents.
Several rivers in Southeastern Texas are experiencing major and even record flooding on roadways and homes after receiving nearly 20 inches of rain over the Memorial Day weekend.
During four days of torrential rain last week, six people died in floods along the Brazos, which runs from New Mexico to the Gulf of Mexico.
The river is expected to crest on Tuesday morning, officials said.
Sixth Street is impassible due to rising flood waters from the Brazos River Sunday, May 29, 2016, in Rosenberg, Texas.
The latest flooding victim identified by authorities was a woman who died when the vehicle she was riding in was swept from the street by the flooded Cypress Creek about 1.30am on Sunday, Kendall County sheriff’s corporal Reid Daly said.
The boy had been “fishing with some friends along the Brazos River and he slipped and fell in”. That’s three feet higher than the previous record, set during flooding in 1994.
“From Sunday afternoon on, we’ll be in new territory”, Fort Bend County Judge Robert Hebert said during an emergency operations conference call. Downstream crests in La Grange and Columbus were also from 2 to 5 feet above May 2015, and a Monday crest in Wharton may flood homes in the city’s west side. This area could see up two more inches of rain between now and Friday.
The bodies of two other missing motorists were found Saturday in separate parts of the county, authorities said.
Deadly storms in May 2015 killed at least 22 people in Texas.
10-inches or more of rain is expected across the region for the next few days.
Authorities evacuated several residential areas as well as a prison near Houston.
Advertisement
The National Weather Service has issued several warnings for Texas, telling people not to drive cars through flooded areas and to be careful near riverbanks.
