High waters flooded neighborhoods around Houston on Saturday following heavy rains that resulted in crews rescuing more than 400 people from homes, rooftops and roads engulfed in murky water. Others prepared to evacuate their properties.
A flood watch remained in effect through Sunday afternoon after forecasters predicted additional rainfall Saturday night and the likelihood of major flooding in Harris county, the nation’s third-largest county which includes Houston, and nearby areas.
Houston authorities have not reported any deaths or injuries. Judge Lina Hidalgo, Harris county’s top elected official, said on Saturday that 178 people and 122 pets had been rescued so far in the county.
A wide region has been swamped from Houston to rural east Texas, where game wardens rode airboats through waist-high waters rescuing people and pets who did not evacuate in time. One crew brought a family and three dogs aboard as rising waters surrounded their cars and home.
“It’s going to keep rising this way,” said Miguel Flores Jr, of the north-east Houston neighborhood of Kingwood. “We don’t know how much more. We’re just preparing for the worst.”
Friday’s fierce storms forced numerous high-water rescues, including some from the rooftops of flooded homes. Officials redoubled urgent instructions for residents in low-lying areas to evacuate, warning the worst was still to come.
Most weekends Flores’ father, Miguel Flores Sr, is mowing his huge back yard on a 2.5-acre (1-hectare) lot 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 already had swallowed his backyard and was continuing to rise, from about 1ft (30cm) high in the yard Friday to about 4ft (1.2m the following day.
“It’s sad, but what can I do,” Flores said, noting that he has flood insurance.
For weeks, drenching rains in Texas and parts of Louisiana have filled reservoirs and saturated the ground. Flood waters partially submerged cars and roads this week across parts of southeastern Texas, north of Houston, reaching the roofs of some homes.
More than 21in (53cm) fell over a five-day period through Friday in Liberty county near the city of Splendora, about 30 miles (50km) north-east of Houston, according to the National Weather Service.
Scores of rescues took place in neighboring Montgomery county. In Polk county, about 100 miles (160km) north-east of Houston, officials said there had been more than 100 water rescues in the previous few days.
Houston is one of the most flood-prone metro areas in the country. The city of more than 2 million people has long experience dealing with devastating weather.
Many in and around Houston have said the weekend’s flooding is the worst since Hurricane Harvey, which in 2017 dumped historic rainfall that flooded thousands of homes and resulted in more than 60,000 rescues by government rescue personnel across Harris county.
