HOUSTON (AP) — More storms were moving across the Houston area already saturated Sunday, hence the floods of heavy rain helped save hundreds of people from homes, roofs and roads.
“It’s going to rain all day and some storms could produce heavier downpours,” said Hayley Adams, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
Over the past week, areas near Lake Livingston, located northeast of Houston, received more than 20 inches (50 centimeters) of rain, she said, while there was up to 12 inches (30 centimeters ) of rain during this period in areas of northeastern Harris County. , the third-largest county in the country that includes Houston.
Adams said storms occurring Sunday are expected to bring up to 3 inches of precipitation, with up to 8 inches possible in some areas.
“It’s going to continue to increase this way,” said Miguel Flores Jr., who lives in the Kingwood neighborhood in northeast Houston. “We don’t know how much. We are simply preparing for the worst.
Houston authorities reported no deaths or injuries as a large area from Houston to rural east Texas was flooded.
FLOODS FORCE EVACUATIONS
Most weekends, Flores’ father, Miguel Flores Sr., mows his massive yard on 2.5 acres (1 hectare) behind his home in Kingwood. But on Saturday, he and his family loaded several vehicles with clothes, small appliances and other items.
Water from the San Jacinto River had already engulfed his yard and was continuing to rise, from about 12 inches (30 centimeters) high in the yard on Friday to about 4 feet (1.2 meters) the next day.
Texas Parks & Wildlife Department game wardens use a boat to rescue residents from floodwaters in Liberty County, Texas, Saturday, May 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Lekan Oyekanmi)
As the storms forced many rescues into rising waters, including some from the roofs of flooded homes, authorities doubled down on urgent orders for residents in low-lying areas to evacuate, warning that the worst was yet to come. come.
Greg Moss, 68, stood near a golf cart Saturday afternoon as he surveyed the several feet of water covering the road leading to his home in Channelview, a community in eastern County Harris, near the San Jacinto River.
Moss had managed to pack up several of his belongings and leave before the road flooded Saturday.
“I’d be stuck for four days,” Moss said. “So now at least I can go get something to eat.”
He moved his belongings and vehicle to a neighbor’s house, where he will stay until the waters recede. Moss said he is not worried about his home being flooded because it is located on higher ground.
HOUSTON PRONE TO FLOODS
Houston is one of the most flood-prone metropolitan areas in the country. The city of more than 2 million people has a long history of devastating weather.
Hurricane Harvey in 2017 dumped historical precipitation which flooded thousands of homes and led to more than 60,000 rescues by Harris County Government emergency personnel.
The greater Houston area covers about 10,000 square miles (25,900 square kilometers), a footprint slightly larger than New Jersey. It is crisscrossed by about 1,700 miles (2,700 kilometers) of canals, streams and bayous flowing into the Gulf of Mexico, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) southeast of downtown.
The system of bayous and reservoirs was built to drain heavy rains, but the engineering originally designed nearly 100 years ago has struggled to keep pace with the city’s growth and larger storms.
Husband and wife Aron Brown, 45, and Jamie Brown, 41, were two of many residents who drove or walked to watch rising waters near a flooded intersection near the San Jacinto River. Nearby restaurants and a gas station began to flood.
Miguel Flores Sr. stands in his flooded yard outside his home in the Kingwood neighborhood of northeast Houston on Saturday, May 4, 2024. Authorities said the area had about four months of rain in one week approximately. (AP Photo/Juan Lozano)
WHAT IS EXPECTED NEXT
Rain in the area should ease by the evening, said Adams, a National Weather Service meteorologist. But then residents recovering from the floods will have to deal with heat and humidity.
With a combination of lingering humidity from rains and temperatures above 90 F (32 C), the region could have heat index values in the triple digits this week, she said.
“We want people to be aware of rising temperatures, heat exhaustion and heat stress,” she said.
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Associated Press reporter Jamie Stengle in Dallas contributed to this report.
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Follow Juan A. Lozano on X, formerly Twitter: https://twitter.com/juanlozano70
News Source : apnews.com
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