HOUSTON (AP) — High waters flooded neighborhoods around Houston on Saturday following heavy rains that have already resulted in crews rescuing more than 400 people from homes, rooftops and roads engulfed in murky water. 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 both 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 and the likelihood of major flooding.
"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.”
The floodwaters had risen several feet and had begun to flood nearby restaurants and a gas station.
The water could be seen flowing into parts of the couple’s subdivision. But Aron Brown said he wasn’t worried as his home was at a higher elevation than other ones in their subdivision.
Aron Brown, who had driven from his home in a golf cart, said the flooding wasn’t as bad as Hurricane Harvey in 2017. He pointed to nearby power lines and said that flooding during Harvey had reached the top of the lines.
Jamie Brown said residents worry every time it rains heavily north of the area, forcing releases of water from Lake Livingston and Lake Conroe north of Kingwood that fill up the San Jacinto River.
“It seems to be more frequent though,” Jamie Brown said of the heavier rainfall.
RESIDENTS IN LOW-LYING AREAS ASKED TO EVACUATE
Friday's fierce storms forced numerous high-water rescues, including some from the rooftops of flooded homes. Officials redoubled urgent instructions for residents in low-lying areas to evacuate, warning the worst was still to come.
“A lull in heavy rain is expected through (Saturday) evening,” according to the National Weather Service. “The next round of heavy rainfall is expected late (Saturday) into Sunday.”
Up to 3 inches (7.62 centimeters) of additional rain is expected with up to 5 inches (12.70 centimeters) more possible in isolated areas.
“This threat is ongoing and it’s going to get worse. It is not your typical river flood,” Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, the top elected official in the nation’s third-largest county, said Friday.
She described the predicted surge of water as “catastrophic." Schools in the path of the flooding canceled classes and roads jammed as authorities closed highways taking on water.
ONGOING RAIN HAS LEFT PARTS OF TEXAS DRENCHED
For weeks, drenching rains in Texas and parts of Louisiana have filled reservoirs and saturated the ground. Floodwaters partially submerged cars and roads this week across parts of southeastern Texas, north of Houston, where high waters reached the roofs of some homes.
More than 21 inches (53.34 centimeters) of rain fell during the five-day period that ended Friday in Liberty County near the city of Splendora, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) northeast of Houston, according to the National Weather Service.
PEOPLE TRAPPED BY HIGH WATER ARE RESCUED
The Harris County Joint Information Center told KPRC-TV that 196 people and 108 animals have been rescued by emergency response agencies in Harris County.
Elsewhere, in neighboring Montgomery County, Judge Mark Keough said there had been more high-water rescues than he was able to count.
“We estimate we’ve had a couple hundred rescues from homes, from houses, from vehicles,” Keough said.
In Polk County, located about 100 miles (160 kilometers) northeast of Houston, officials have done over 100 water rescues in the past few days, said Polk County Emergency Management Coordinator Courtney Comstock.
She said homes below Lake Livingston Dam and along the Trinity River have flooded.
“It’ll be when things subside before we can do our damage assessment,” Comstock said.
HOUSTON IS ONE OF THE MOST FLOOD-PRONE METRO AREAS IN THE US
Authorities in Houston had not reported any deaths or injuries. The city of more than 2 million people is one of the most flood-prone metro areas in the country and has long experience dealing with devastating weather.
Hurricane Harvey in 2017 dumped historic rainfall on the area, flooding thousands of homes and resulting in more than 60,000 rescues by government rescue personnel across Harris County.
Of particular concern was an area along the San Jacinto River in the northeastern part of Harris County, which was expected to continue rising as more rain falls and officials release extra water from an already full reservoir. Judge Hidalgo on Thursday issued a mandatory evacuation order for those living along portions of the river.
Most of Houston’s city limits were not heavily impacted by the weather. Officials said the area had about four months of rain in about a week’s time.
Shelters have opened across the region, including nine by the American Red Cross.
The weather service reported the river was nearly 74 feet (22.56 meters) late Saturday morning after reaching nearly 78 feet (23.7 meters). The rapidly changing forecast said the river is expected to fall to near flood stage of 58 feet (17.6 meters) by Thursday.
The greater Houston area covers about 10,000 square miles (about 25,900 square kilometers) — a footprint slightly bigger than New Jersey. It is crisscrossed by about 1,700 miles (2,736 kilometers) of channels, creeks and bayous that drain into the Gulf of Mexico, about 50 miles (about 80 kilometers) to the southeast from downtown.
The city's system of bayous and reservoirs was built to drain heavy rains. But engineering initially designed nearly 100 years ago has struggled to keep up with the city’s growth and bigger storms.
___
The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.
___
Associated Press reporters Ken Miller in Edmond, Oklahoma, and Jim Vertuno in Austin, and Valerie Gonzalez in McAllen, Texas, contributed to this report.