US: Evacuation ordered in eastern Texas as worsening flooding expected

HOUSTON (Texas, US), May 3 (NNN-XINHUA) — Multiple rounds of thunderstorms are worsening flooding threats on Thursday across eastern Texas, including the Houston area, forcing evacuations and school closures.

Jeff Lindner, meteorologist and flood control director of Harris County, where much of Houston belongs to, said the flooding was “widespread and dangerous.”

“Parts of the north Houston metro, as well as areas around Beaumont, have picked up 5 to 8 inches of rain” in the past 24 hours, weather.com senior meteorologist Jonathan Erdman said on Thursday afternoon.

The heaviest rain has fallen in a swath from around Lake Conroe to Lake Livingston in east Texas, including the city of Huntsville, he said, adding that rainfall totals over the past 24 hours have ranged from 7 to 12 inches in that zone.

Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo on Thursday called a mandatory evacuation of the Houston areas along the east fork of the San Jacinto River, pleading for residents to leave their homes before flooding worsens Thursday night.

“We need you out of that area,” Hidalgo said, noting that flood waters are expected to rise to levels high enough to flood even raised home and could touch power lines.

“Please evacuate as soon as possible,” the judge said, “certainly before nighttime if at all possible.”

A number of school districts in the Houston area as well as eastern Texas announced closures for Thursday and Friday.

Montgomery County Emergency Management officials are also predicting “catastrophic” flooding as the San Jacinto River Authority expects water releases from Lake Conroe to match levels seen during Hurricane Harvey in 2017, the Houston Chronicle reported. The county’s Judge Mark Keough has issued a disaster declaration.

Eight to 10 inches of rain had fallen from midnight to Thursday afternoon in several counties around the Houston area, according to Justin Ballard, a meteorologist with the newspaper. Lake Conroe’s level rose to 205.3 feet on Thursday afternoon.

Houston Mayor John Whitmire and other city officials said at a news conference on Thursday that they believe Friday might be worse for flooding in the city, warning the “worst is yet to come.” — NNN-XINHUA