As rivers overflow in South Texas, leaving homes and businesses flooded and thousands of people displaced, forecast rain continues to threaten the US state.
At least 224 people were rescued from homes and vehicles in Harris County, Texas, an official said Saturday night.
Evacuation orders and flood warnings are in effect, while more rain is expected in the state this Sunday (5).
No deaths or serious injuries were reported, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo told CNN, adding that 153 pets were also rescued.
“It is very sad to see the impact on livelihoods, homes and infrastructure,” Hidalgo told CNN on Saturday.
“We are really asking people to wait before returning home,” he highlighted.
Many people in the city of Houston were evacuated before the worst of the storms, Brent Taylor, communications director for the Houston Office of Emergency Management, told Amara Walker of Houston. CNN, this Sunday.
“We have the Houston Police Department and the Houston Fire Department that are patrolling these neighborhoods that are close to the river and where the water is very high. There were a few cases where someone just screamed for help and said, 'Hey, I'm stuck here!'” he commented.
“We have high water rescue vehicles. We have jet skis, we have air boats. Our Houston Department of Public Works has trucks that can be equipped to transport people through these high waters, so it really is a unified effort to make sure these Houstonians stay safe,” he added.
Rain forecast between Sunday and Monday
Most of the rain over the weekend fell in west and central Texas, but there is a significant chance of stronger storms in the Houston metro area this Sunday.
An additional 25 to 50 mm of rain is possible Monday morning, according to the National Weather Service office in Houston. Isolated areas may record up to 100 to 200 mm of rain.
“Due to heavy rain over the past week, flooding may occur earlier than would be expected under normal conditions. Today's rains will continue to worsen existing river flooding,” warned the Houston Weather Service office.
The amount of rain in the region was enormous last week, with some areas accumulating rain equivalent to two months in five days. The weather service listed some of the precipitation totals collected:
Weather improves during the week
However, the situation should improve.
The forecast for the rest of the week for Houston shows dry weather and mild temperatures from Monday (6) to Saturday (11), with plenty of sun to help dry the region.
This week's rains were the latest in a series of weather events that have hit Texas since early April.
Dozens of tornadoes were reported across the state, with areas reporting softball-sized hail.
Additionally, months' worth of rain fell in East Texas, causing rivers to record their highest levels since Hurricane Harvey in 2017.
Mandatory evacuations are in effect in counties in and around the Houston area as local officials draw comparisons to past disasters.
“The flooding is “85% worse than Hurricane Harvey,” San Jacinto County Emergency Management Coordinator Emmitt Eldridge told CNN.
“This was a historic flood for Walker County. There was more flooding than during Hurricane Harvey,” said Sherri Pegoda, deputy county emergency management coordinator, to CNN.
A mandatory evacuation order remains in effect for low-lying areas of Polk County through Sunday evening, emergency services officials said in a Facebook post, as well as homes along rivers in Harris and Montgomery counties.
Disaster warnings are active in more than a third of Texas counties after Gov. Greg Abbott expanded storm-related declarations in response to the flooding, according to a news release.
Source: CNN Brasil
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