Storms abate:
The rain has stopped in Texas, but flooding continues to be a threat as water moves downstream.
HOUSTON — This week’s record rainfall in Texas eased the state’s drought and swelled rivers and lakes to the point that they may not return to normal levels until July, scientists said Thursday.
Just weeks ago, much of the state was parched with varying levels of drought. But the same drenching rainfall that paralyzed parts of Houston and swept away a vacation home with eight people inside also offered relief from a long dry spell.
Many cities were still in danger of flooding as heavy rain from earlier in the week poured downstream, pushing rivers over their banks.
“There’s so much water in Texas and Oklahoma that it’s going to take quite a while for those rivers to recede,” said Mark Wiley, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Fort Worth, Texas.
If normal amounts of precipitation return, rivers will probably drop to average levels by the Fourth of July, he said.
“Six months ago, we were dying for this stuff,” he said. “And now we’re saying, ‘ Please, please stop. '”
On Wednesday, the Houston area got a respite from the rain, but by Thursday runoff from earlier in the week had lifted the San Jacinto River above flood stage, and it kept climbing. Nearby residents watched the high water with alarm.
“We came back out here today to get a few of our things that we had parked by the road,” said Brian Harmon, who lives in suburban Kingwood. “The water keeps rising and rising. We didn’t want to lose anything else.”
Harmon’s home had up to 2 feet of water. Nearby streets had water rushing over them.
About 60 miles southwest of Houston, the mayor of Wharton asked residents to voluntarily evacuate about 300 homes because of the predicted rise of the Colorado River.
And in the rural Parker County community of Horseshoe Bend, some 40 miles southwest of Fort Worth, officials asked people in 250 homes to flee from the Brazos River.
This week’s storms and floods in Texas and Oklahoma have left at least 23 people dead and at least 14 others missing.
In Miami, President Obama said the flooding should serve as a reminder of the need to make the nation more resilient against natural disasters. He said climate change is affecting both the pace and intensity of storms.
“The best scientists in the world are telling us that extreme weather events, like hurricanes, are likely to become more powerful,” Obama said.