Hundreds rescued from flooding in Houston region
HOUSTON — High waters flooded neighbourhoods around Houston on Saturday following heavy rain that has 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 took a family and three dogs aboard as rising waters surrounded their cars and home.
A flood watch was in effect through this 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 neighbourhood of Kingwood. “We don’t know how much more. We’re just preparing for the worst.”
Husband and wife 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 parts of the couple’s subdivision, but Aron Brown said he 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 Hurricane Harvey in 2017. He pointed to nearby power lines and said flooding during Harvey had reached the top of the lines.
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.
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said more rain was expected today, and if it’s a lot, it could be problematic.
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 vehicles with clothes, small appliances and other items.
Water from the San Jacinto River had already swallowed his backyard and was continuing to rise — what was about 30 centimetres high in the yard Friday measured about 1.2 metres the following day.
“It’s sad, but what can I do,” Flores said. He added that he has flood insurance.
For weeks, drenching rain in Texas and parts of Louisiana has filled reservoirs and saturated the ground. Floodwater partially submerged cars and roads this week across parts of southeastern Texas, north of Houston, reaching the roofs of some homes.