Six people have been reported dead, and at least two are missing as severe weather sweeps across the Gulf Coast.
"A large weather system moving through the region has been producing heavy rainfall and severe thunderstorms since Friday," said weather.com meteorologist Quincy Vagell. "Record rainfall has caused flooding across Texas, and the storms have spawned numerous reports of tornadoes over parts of several states."
(MORE: Track Severe Weather in the South)
Six Reported Dead, At Least 2 Missing
According to the Associated Press, six people have been killed in connection with the flooding in Texas.
Houston
police discovered two bodies believed to be weather-related deaths. One
body was found in a flooded ditch and the other was located in a wooded
area that had previously been in high water, according to city
spokesman Michael Walter.
Friday
night, a victim's body washed up in Camp Bullis, a U.S. Army training
camp, around 6:15 a.m. 502nd Air Base Wing chief of public affairs for
Joint Base San Antonio Oscar Balladares said the individual was a
contract exmployee whose vehicle was washed down stream. An identity has
yet to be released.
Saturday morning, a death was confirmed when officials found the body of a man whose vehicle was swept away Friday southeast of Austin, reports AP.
According to KVUE, crews are also looking for a 37-year-old man who was swept off the top of his car in the area of SH 130 and FM 812. Two other people were in the car, but they were rescued.
Two people were missing from earlier flash floods in the Austin area. The body of a man swept away around Austin was found Saturday, but another remains missing
The
body of an elderly woman that went missing near Citation and Ruidosa in
Southeast Travis County was found by authorities Saturday. The woman
and her husband were being rescued from a home at the time of her
disappearance. Crews were able to get her husband to safety and he was
taken to an area hospital.
Roger
Wade, Travis County public information officer, said a man in his 40s
or 50s was found after he was swept away by floodwaters in Travis
County. Eyewitnesses told authorities they were attempting to reach the
man on the roof of his car when he was swept away, KVUE reports. The man has not been identified, pending notification of relatives.
Tornadoes Leave Damage in Texas, Louisiana
The
National Weather Service confirmed an F1 tornado in Rapides Parish
damaged buildings and trees near Elmer, Louisiana, on Saturday. A second
F1 produced similar damage to trees and outbuildings near Cravens,
Louisiana, the same day.
Six
confirmed tornadoes were reported south and east of Houston on Saturday
morning, according to the National Weather Service. There were reports
of overturned mobile homes and possible injuries. Utilities in East
Texas said that 44,000 customers were without power.
The
National Weather Service reports that tornadoes caused damage to six
communities in the Houston area. A radar-confirmed tornado damaged
between 10 and 30 homes around 7 a.m. in an eastern Harris County
subdivision, according to the Associated Press.
In
Friendswood, a Houston suburb, one home had a collapsed roof from a
tornado that hit around 5:30 a.m. Officials say no one was injured and
the home's residents were away at that time. Around 30 other homes had
minor damage.
Officials reported that
about 15 to 20 trailer homes were damaged when a confirmed tornado
whorled through Alvin, located 30 miles south of Houston. An elderly
couple sustained minor injuries when their trailer was overturned.
In Pasadena, a
tornado caused extensive tree and fence damage along its path and caused
significant roof loss to several homes, one of which lost a portion of
an exterior brick wall, according to the National Weather Service.
Barrett saw minor roof damage to several homes, with damage mainly to trees and power lines.
A tornado in Lake Jackson
knocked down fences and uprooted shallow trees before tracking across a
Hobby Lobby store and the eastern end of Brazos Mall, causing roof
damage.
A barn and farm house
in Danbury were severely damaged by a tornado before it went on to flip
three trailers at an RV park before lifting them off the ground.
Residents of the RV park were warned of the tornado's approach at 4:15
a.m. and witnessed it around 4:30 a.m.
The
towns of D'Hanis and Floresville took a hard hit from suspected
tornadoes early Friday. There were also reports of damage near San
Marcos as the severe weather pushed northeast. Bluebonnet Electric
tweeted photos of a mangled transmission tower near San Marcos Friday
afternoon.
NWS meteorologist
Jason Runyen said businesses have been damaged in downtown D'Hanis and
that trees are also down. Medina County authorities told NBC San Antonio
that a bank was destroyed and other buildings were damaged, but they were unsure if there were any injuries.
The
Wilson County Sheriff's Office told The Weather Channel that
Floresville High School was damaged. No injuries have been reported from
either of the suspected tornadoes.
Some homes and other
structures between Seguin and Zorn lost roofs during the storms,
Guadalupe County Sheriff's Capt. Tom Meeley told the Associated Press.Major Flooding Prompts Water Rescues, Evacuations
The Houston Fire Department responded to around 90 water rescues early Saturday morning as the city saw around five inches of rain in a matter of a few hours. The worst of the flooding was reported in the southwest and southeast parts of town, with the Westbury area receiving nearly six inches of rain.Storms have caused trouble with traveling in Houston, as heavy rains and flooding have washed out roads and halted some public transit, reports AP. Saturday, the city's nearly 23-mile light rail system suspended service because of the rainfall. Emergency management officials say high water also affected public bus routes and swamped major highways.
Multiple water rescues were conducted elsewhere in Austin and Travis counties, including the rescue of two police officers caught in rushing floodwaters, as well as that of Ed Asapi, who clung to an 18-wheeler until rescuers reached him.
The Austin
County Emergency Management Service reported Friday afternoon that
multiple residents in the Man-O-War/Maha Loop/Quicksilver area were stranded on their rooftops and rescues were underway. Austin ResQ Medics
escorted a medical patient across a flooded roadway to a waiting
ambulance and made at least one water rescue later Friday.
Among those rescued earlier in the day was a church group from Dallas,
stuck at a Wimberley bed-and-breakfast when a nearby creek overflowed
and trapped them. Kathleen Haney told the Associated Press she and seven
others from the Dallas
group were saved by members of the National Guard when they strung a
rope between the staircase and higher ground, and they were then brought
to safety.
(WATCH: Lightning Strikes Radar Assembly)
Flooding forced San Marcos city officials to close an evacuation center at
the San Marcos Activity Center Friday afternoon. Citizens who were
waiting out the flood at the Activity Center were bussed to a new
evacuation center at Miller Middle School. San Marcos city officials
closed the evacuation centers Saturday evening after residents were
either able to return home or were moved to other housing.
Travis
County Emergency Management issued a Regional Notification System (RNS)
message to residents of the Citation Circle neighborhood Saturday,
notifying them to evacuate to higher ground.
In Austin, boats were deployed by the Austin
Fire Department to help with water rescues. Passenger vehicles were
nearly submerged by floodwaters near the interchange linking U.S.
Highway 183 and State Route 71 near Austin-Bergstrom International Airport late Friday morning.
In eastern Bexar County, a school bus with children inside got stuck in high water, and crews were able to successfully remove everyone inside, the Bexar County Sheriff's Office said via Twitter.
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Information from the Associated Press was used in this report. This is a
developing story. Please check back frequently for updates.
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