HOUSTON (AP) — High waters flooded neighborhoods around Houston Saturday following heavy rains that have already allowed crews to rescue more than 400 people from homes, roofs and roads engulfed in murky waters. Others were preparing to evacuate their property.
A wide area was flooded, from Houston to rural East Texas, where game wardens piloted airboats through waist-deep water to rescue people and pets who had not were evacuated in time. One crew took a family and three dogs on board as rising waters surrounded their cars and homes.
A flood watch was in effect until Sunday afternoon, with forecasters predicting additional rainfall Saturday evening and the likelihood of major flooding.
“It’s going to continue to increase this way,” said Miguel Flores Jr., of the Kingwood neighborhood in northeast Houston. “We don’t know how much. We are simply preparing for the worst.
Husband and wife Aron Brown, 45, and Jamie Brown, 41, were two of many residents who drove or walked to watch rising waters near a flooded intersection near the San Jacinto River. Nearby restaurants and a gas station began to flood.
Water could be seen running in parts of the couple’s subdivision, but Aron Brown said he wasn’t concerned because their home is at a higher elevation than others in the neighborhood.
Brown, who left his home by golf cart, said the flooding was not as bad as Hurricane Harvey in 2017. He pointed to nearby power lines and said flooding during Harvey had reached the top of the lines.
RESIDENTS IN LOWER AREAS ASKED TO EVACUATE
Friday’s violent storms forced many rescue efforts in the event of rising waters, particularly from the roofs of flooded houses. Authorities doubled down on urgent orders for residents in low-lying areas to evacuate, warning that the worst was yet to come.
“A lull in heavy rain is expected until (Saturday) evening,” according to the National Weather Service. “The next round of heavy rain is expected late (Saturday) into Sunday.”
Up to 3 inches (7.6 centimeters) of additional rain was expected, with up to 5 inches (12.7 centimeters) possible in isolated areas.
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said more rain was expected Sunday and if it’s heavy it could be problematic. Hidalgo is the highest elected official in the nation’s third-largest county.
Continued rain has left parts of Texas soaked and residents trapped
Most weekends, Miguel Flores Sr. mows his huge garden on 2.5 acres (1 hectare) behind his home in Kingwood. But on Saturday, he and his family were loading several vehicles with clothing, small appliances and other items.
Water from the San Jacinto River had already engulfed his yard and was continuing to rise — what was about 12 inches high in the yard on Friday was about 4 feet (1.2 meters) the next day.
“It’s sad, but what can I do,” Flores said. He added that he had flood insurance.
For weeks, torrential rains in Texas and parts of Louisiana filled reservoirs and saturated the ground. Floodwaters partially submerged cars and roads this week in parts of southeast Texas, north of Houston, reaching the roofs of some homes.
More than 21 inches (53 centimeters) fell over a five-day period through Friday in Liberty County, near the town of Splendora, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) northeast of Houston, according to the National Weather Service.
Hidalgo said Saturday that 178 people and 122 pets have been rescued so far in the county. Many rescues took place in neighboring Montgomery County. In Polk County, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) northeast of Houston, authorities said they had performed more than 100 water rescues in recent days.
HOUSTON IS ONE OF THE CLOSEST METRO AREAS TO FLOODING IN THE UNITED STATES
Houston authorities reported no deaths or injuries. The city of more than 2 million people is one of the most flood-prone metropolitan areas in the country and has a long history of dealing with devastating weather.
Hurricane Harvey in 2017 dumped historical precipitation which flooded thousands of homes and led to more than 60,000 rescues by Harris County government emergency personnel.
An area along the San Jacinto River was of particular concern because it was expected to continue rising as rainfall increases and officials release water from a full reservoir. Hidalgo issued a mandatory evacuation order Thursday for people living along parts of the river.
The weather service reported the river was at nearly 74 feet (22.6 meters) late Saturday morning after reaching nearly 78 feet (23.7 meters). The rapidly changing forecast indicates the river is expected to fall to near flood level of 58 feet (17.6 meters) by Thursday.
Most of Houston’s city limits were not heavily impacted by the weather. Authorities said the area received about four months’ worth of rain in about a week.
The greater Houston area covers about 10,000 square miles (25,900 square kilometers), a footprint slightly larger than New Jersey. It is crisscrossed by approximately 2,700 kilometers of canals, streams and bayous that flow into the Gulf of Mexico, approximately 80 kilometers southeast of the city center.
The system of bayous and reservoirs was built to drain heavy rains, but the engineering originally designed nearly 100 years ago has struggled to keep pace with the city’s growth and larger storms.
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Associated Press journalists Ken Miller in Edmond, Oklahoma, Jim Vertuno in Austin and Valerie Gonzalez in McAllen, Texas, contributed to this report.
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