At least two people have died and 30 are unaccounted for in severe flooding in Central Texas on Tuesday. High water and flooding made many of Houston’s roads impassable, which prompted many officials to urge residents to stay home.
In Wimberley, Texas, residents and officials faced an unprecedented wall of water over the weekend during flash floods that crushed homes and swept away families.
Rescue crews Tuesday continued searching the full length of the Blanco River for 30 people who remain missing, including a family of eight vacationing in a single home. There have been two confirmed deaths.
A record surge 44 feet high sped down the Blanco River late Sunday, demolishing homes and businesses, Hays County Commissioner Will Conley said. The previous record on the river was 32 feet, recorded in 1926.
“It was literally a large wall of water that came down the Blanco River and destroyed everything in its path,” he said.
About 70 homes in Hays County were completely destroyed and 1,400 had some type of damage, county spokeswoman Laureen Chernow said. Several hundred have been displaced, she said.
In Houston, almost another foot of rain fell Tuesday.
The fourth-largest city in the USA suffered some of its worst flooding in years as much of the city and its freeway system were under water.
Torrential rains sent Houston bayous out of their banks overnight, flooding hundreds of homes and stranding thousands of drivers.
Houston firefighters reported they were called to more than 500 water-related rescues.
The dead Tuesday were in the Houston area. One victim was found in a car in southwest Houston. Another victim was pulled from Brays Bayou, in southeast Houston. Brays Bayou is a watershed that is located in southwest Harris County and portions of Fort Bend County.
Both victims were women. Two more in the Houston area are missing.
On Interstate 10, one of Houston’s busiest freeways, a trip that is usually a five-minute drive to downtown, was virtually impassable.
The heavy rain caused a traffic nightmare with miles of stuck cars. Some people either slept in their cars or abandoned them. Some drivers also had to contend with water inside their vehicles.
Emergency officials spent the overnight hours rescuing hundreds of stranded drivers.
A flash flood watch remains in effect for Fort Bend and Harris counties until 6 p.m. Central.
In a tweet to USA TODAY, Titus Chow, who lives on Bays Bayou, took a photo of a helicopter circling to pull a body from the bayou. Chow said the photo was taken near the University of Houston.
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