Hundreds rescued from flooding as water continues rising in Houston and rural East Texas
High waters flooded neighborhoods around Houston on Saturday following heavy rains that have resulted in crews rescuing more than 400 people from engulfed homes, rooftops and roads. Others prepared to evacuate their property.
A wide region was swamped, from Houston to rural East Texas, where game wardens rode airboats through waist-high waters rescuing people and pets who did not evacuate in time. One crew brought a family and three dogs aboard as rising waters surrounded their cars and home.
A flood watch was in effect through Sunday afternoon, as forecasters predicted additional rainfall Saturday night.
“It’s going to keep rising this way,” said Miguel Flores Jr. of the northeast Houston neighborhood of Kingwood. “We don’t know how much more. We’re just preparing for the worst.”
Aron Brown, 45, and Jamie Brown, 41, were two of the many residents who drove or walked to watch the rising waters near a flooded intersection close to the San Jacinto River. Nearby restaurants and a gas station were beginning to flood.
Water could be seen flowing into the couple’s subdivision, but Aron Brown wasn’t worried because their home is at a higher elevation than others in the neighborhood.
Brown, who had driven from his home in a golf cart, said the flooding wasn’t as bad as that caused by Hurricane Harvey in 2017. He pointed to power lines and said flooding during Harvey had reached the top of the poles.
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Residents asked to evacuate
Friday’s fierce storms forced high-water rescues, including some from the rooftops of flooded homes. Officials redoubled urgent instructions for residents in low-lying areas to evacuate, warning that the worst was still to come.
“A lull in heavy rain is expected through [Saturday] evening,” the National Weather Service said. “The next round of heavy rainfall is expected late [Saturday] into Sunday.”
Up to 3 inches of additional rain was expected, with up to 5 inches possible in isolated areas.
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Some residents trapped
Most weekends, Miguel Flores Sr. is mowing his backyard on a 2.5-acre lot behind his home in Kingwood. But on Saturday, he and his family were loading several vehicles with clothes, small appliances and other items.
Water from the San Jacinto River had already swallowed the backyard and was continuing to rise — from about a foot Friday to about 4 Saturday.
“It’s sad, but what can I do?” Flores said. He has flood insurance, he noted.
For weeks, rain in Texas and parts of Louisiana has filled reservoirs and saturated the ground. Floodwaters submerged cars and roads this week across parts of southeastern Texas, north of Houston, reaching the roofs of some homes.
More than 21 inches fell over five days through Friday in Liberty County near the city of Splendora, about 30 miles northeast of Houston, according to the National Weather Service.
Judge Lina Hidalgo — the top elected official in Harris, the nation’s third largest county — said Saturday that 178 people and 122 pets had been rescued there. Scores of rescues took place in neighboring Montgomery County. In Polk County, about 100 miles northeast of Houston, officials said they have made more than 100 water rescues in the last few days.
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Flood-prone metro area
Authorities in Houston have not reported any deaths or injuries. The city of more than 2 million is one of the most flood-prone metro areas in the country.
Hurricane Harvey in 2017 dumped historic rainfall that flooded thousands of homes and resulted in more than 60,000 rescues.
Of particular concern was the area along the San Jacinto River, which was expected to keep rising as rain continues and officials release water from a full reservoir. Hidalgo issued a mandatory evacuation order Thursday for people living along portions of the river.
Most of Houston’s city limits were not heavily impacted, though officials said the area received about four months’ worth of rain in about a week.
Lozano writes for the Associated Press. AP reporters Ken Miller in Edmond, Okla.; Jim Vertuno in Austin; and Valerie Gonzalez in McAllen, Texas, contributed to this report.
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