Austin, Texas Flooding Update: Search for Missing Sheriff Deputy Suspended, Thousands Without Power as Heavy Rain Falls

September 18,2014



 
A slowly moving area of thunderstorms brought heavy rain and flash flooding to the Austin, Texas area, beginning early Thursday morning and continuing through the evening. The storms forced multiple water rescues and cut off power to about 7,000 customers, and have been blamed for the disappearance of a Travis County sheriff's deputy.
The deputy was checking low water crossings around 2 a.m. Thursday when she used her radio to report that she was being swept away by the water, Austin's KXAN-TV reported.
(FORECAST: Austin | Southwest Flood Threat)
Though officials had yet to find her as of mid-morning Thursday, Travis County Sheriff's spokesman Roger Wade said EMS and fire crews and sheriff's deputies immediately responded to her call, and were searching for in the area where her car was found submerged by 2:06 a.m.
"It's extremely difficult," Wade told KXAN, adding that they still hope to find her. "We've got guys who just had breakfast with her, and it’s rough. We're professionals, and we'll get through it. And we'll keep searching until we find something."
Rescue crews suspended their search for the missing deputy Thursday evening, though rescue personnel plan to resume the search operation by sunrise on Friday morning, reports KXAN.com.
Numerous roads were closed overnight in the city of Austin as rainfall totals of more than 4 inches have been reported in some spots.
Camp Mabry in Austin reported 3.27 inches of rain in just two hours. A Weather Underground rain gauge near the Pennybacker Bridge over Lake Austin recorded 5.99 inches of rain, including 3.60 inches in one hour in the wee hours of Thursday morning.
North of Austin in Georgetown, Texas, 6.10 inches of rain was reported.
There have been over 50 low-water crossings that have been closed, according to atxfloods.com.
The Lower Colorado River Authority opened three floodgates releasing water from Lake Austin into Lady Bird Lake. They also reported that Lake Travis rose six inches since midnight.
The threat of flash flooding continues through Friday morning due to upper-level disturbances moving through the area, along with tropical moisture. Another 1 to 2 inches of rain is expected across the area and some spots could see up to 3 to 5 inches. The ground is already saturated, so any additional rainfall could produce more flash flooding, as well as rapid rises in rivers, streams and creeks.
A flash flood warning was issued for parts of Burnet and Williamson counties in Austin's northern suburbs Thursday afternoon as more slow-moving storms with heavy rain developed.