AP
Houston authorities asked residents to prepare for worsening flooding after days of heavy rains that have led to flood rescues and mandatory evacuation orders.
“The threat is ongoing and is going to get worse. “It’s not a typical river flood,” Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, the top elected official in the nation’s third-most populous county, said Friday.
Hidalgo said a school bus carrying children had to be rescued after hitting high water, but everyone on board was safe.
More than 23 centimeters (9 inches) of rain fell in the last 24 hours, according to the National Meteorological Service (SMN), which issued a flood alert that will be in effect until Tuesday for the region.
There was also a flash flood warning in effect for the area Friday morning.
An area along the San Jacinto River is of particular concern because its level is expected to continue rising as more rain falls and authorities release extra water from an already full reservoir.
Hidalgo issued a mandatory evacuation order Thursday for people living along some parts of the river, calling it a “life-threatening” and “catastrophic” situation.
Hidalgo noted that several hundred structures are at risk of flooding.
The National Weather Service reported the river's water level was about 20.18 meters (66.2 feet) on Friday morning and is expected to reach 23.35 meters (76.6 feet) on Saturday.
The river's flood level is 17.68 meters (58 feet), according to the weather service.
Hidalgo warned people who live along the river in southern parts of the county that they could be stranded for days if they remain indoors.
No injuries or deaths have been reported, but authorities have reported that several people have been rescued from the floodwaters.
In the city of Conroe, north of Houston, rescue teams went out in boats to rescue people and animals from their homes and take them to higher ground.
Neighborhoods and businesses in Livingston — northeast of Conroe — were flooded, with water rising to the windshields of moving pickup trucks and over the bottom of the windows of some buildings.
In College Station, a driver was rescued Thursday from a utility pole she had climbed on when the car she was driving entered high water in a parking lot and was swept into a creek.
Last month's storms in southeast Texas and parts of Louisiana have dumped more than 2 feet (61 centimeters) of rain in some areas, according to the National Weather Service.
