Houston is bracing for more intense flooding amid storm aftermath

High water levels flooded neighborhoods around Houston on Saturday after heavy rains have already led to crews rescuing more than 300 people from homes, roofs and roads swamped by murky water. Others prepared to evacuate their properties.

Miguel Flores Sr. said he spends most weekends mowing his backyard in northeast Houston’s Kingwood neighborhood. But on Saturday, he and his family were loading several vehicles with clothing, small appliances and other items before water flooded his home.

Water from the nearby San Jacinto River had swallowed his backyard and continued to rise, from about 0.30 meters Friday to about 1.22 meters Saturday.

“It’s sad, but what can I do,” said Flores, 54. He added that he has flood insurance.

His son, Miguel Flores Jr., 27, said he and his family have lived in the house since 2020 and the flooding has never been worse.

“This way it will continue to rise,” Miguel Flores Jr. said. “We don’t know how much more. We are only preparing for the worst.” Miguel Flores Jr. said many neighbors had already left their homes in the rural area near the river, dotted with trees and lush greenery.

A flood watch remained in effect through Sunday afternoon as forecasters predicted additional rain Saturday night, bringing another 1 to 3 inches of water to the soaked area and increasing the chance of major flooding.

RESIDENTS IN LOW AREAS ASKED TO EVACUATE Friday’s fierce storms forced numerous high-water rescues, including some from the roofs of flooded houses. Officials doubled down on urgent instructions for residents in low-lying areas to evacuate, warning that the worst was yet to come.

“This threat is ongoing and will only get worse. It’s not your typical river flood,” Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, the top elected official in the nation’s third-largest county, said Friday.

She described the predicted flood as ‘catastrophic’. Schools in the flood’s path had to cancel classes and block roads as authorities closed highways that were taking on water.

CONTINUOUS RAIN HAS REACHED PARTS OF TEXAS For weeks, torrential rains in Texas and parts of Louisiana have filled reservoirs and saturated the ground. Floods this week partially inundated cars and roads in parts of southeastern Texas north of Houston, where high water reached the roofs of some homes.

More than 21 inches (53.34 centimeters) of rain fell during the five-day period ending Friday in Liberty County near the town of Splendora, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) northeast of Houston, according to the National Weather Service.

PEOPLE CAUGHT BY HIGH WATER ARE RESCUE The Harris County Joint Information Center told KPRC-TV that 196 people and 108 animals have been rescued by emergency responders in Harris County.

Elsewhere, in neighboring Montgomery County, Judge Mark Keough said there had been more high-water rescues than he could count.

“We estimate we’ve had a couple hundred rescues from homes, from houses and from vehicles,” Keough said.

In Polk County, about 100 miles northeast of Houston, officials have conducted more than 100 water rescues in recent days, said Courtney Comstock, Polk County emergency management coordinator.

She said homes below Lake Livingston Dam and along the Trinity River have been flooded.

“It won’t be until things slow down before we can assess our damage,” Comstock said.

HOUSTON IS ONE OF THE MOST FLOOD PRONE METRO AREAS IN THE US. Authorities in Houston had reported no deaths or injuries. The city of more than 2 million residents is one of the most flood-prone metro areas in the country and has a long history of devastating weather.

Hurricane Harvey dumped historic rainfall on the area in 2017, flooding thousands of homes and resulting in more than 60,000 rescues by government rescue personnel throughout Harris County.

Of particular concern was an area along the San Jacinto River in the northeastern part of Harris County, which was expected to continue rising as more rain falls and officials release additional water from an already full reservoir. Judge Hidalgo issued a mandatory evacuation order Thursday for those living along parts of the river.

Most of Houston’s city limits were not severely affected by the weather. Officials said the area had about four months of rain in about a week.

Shelters have opened across the region, including nine run by the American Red Cross.

The weather service reported the river was nearly 74 feet (22.56 meters) Saturday morning after reaching nearly 78 feet (23.7 meters). According to the rapidly changing forecast, the river is expected to reach almost 17.6 meters on Thursday.

The greater Houston area covers approximately 10,000 square miles (about 25,900 square kilometers) – a footprint slightly larger than that of New Jersey. It is crossed by approximately 1,736 miles (2,736 kilometers) of canals, creeks, and swamps that empty into the Gulf of Mexico about 50 miles (80 kilometers) southeast of downtown.

The city’s system of bayous and reservoirs was built to drain heavy rainfall. But the technology, originally designed nearly 100 years ago, has struggled to keep up with the city’s growth and larger storms.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)