Storm aftermath: 4 dead, 3 missing
Texas and Kansas focus on swollen, rising waterways.
brenham, texas» At least four people are dead and three others are missing after this week’s torrential rains in Texas and Kansas, officials said Saturday, noting that though the threat of severe weather had lessened in Texas over the long holiday weekend, the focus is now on swollen rivers and waterways that are slowly rising and could flood homes.
“The skies are clear and things look good. But we want to make sure people understand that we are not out of the woods yet. We have to keep an eye on water that’s coming through our bayou system,” said Francisco Sanchez, a spokesman for the Office of Emergency Management in Harris County, where Houston is located.
Other parts of the U.S. got drenched Friday, including Kansas. And on Saturday afternoon, Tropical Storm Bonnie formed in the Atlantic Ocean and brought rain and wind to the coast of South Carolina.
In Kansas, the Wichita Fire Department said Saturday that it is searching for an 11-year-old boy who went missing after he was swept away by a swollen creek Friday night. Wichita Fire Department battalion chief Scott Brown said his department has 12 divers, three search-and-rescue dogs and an airplane searching for any sign of the boy.
In Washington County, Texas, located between Austin and Houston, County Judge John Brieden said the bodies of two missing motorists were found Saturday in separate parts of the rural county. The body of Pyarali Rajebhi Umatiya, 59, of College Station was found in a submerged vehicle. The body of Darren Charles Mitchell, 21, a National Guardsman from Navasota, was found downstream from where his overturned truck had been located earlier.
That brings to four the number of people who have died in the county after more than 16.5 inches of rain fell in some places on Thursday and Friday. The downpour Roland Courville steers a boat to help people escape a flooded neighborhood Friday in Magnolia, Texas. to ask about 750 families in the Northwood Pines subdivision to voluntarily evacuate their homes and apartments on Saturday. Officials also warned residents living near the west fork of the San Jacinto River that rising waters were likely to flood homes, even those that are elevated, Sanchez said.
In Fort Bend County, southwest of Houston, officials warned residents that the Brazos River was likely to rise to the highest level ever recorded in the county.
The city of Simonton issued a mandatory evacuation for most of its 800 residents, said Mayor Louis Boudreaux.