HOUSTON — Storms in Texas brought more rain on Sunday to the already soaked Houston area where hundreds of people have been saved from flooded homes and roads. Meanwhile, to the north in the Fort Worth area, a child died after being carried away when the car he was in got stuck in floodwaters.
In the past week, areas near Lake Livingston, located northeast of Houston, have received more than 20 inches of rain, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Hayley Adams. She also mentioned that up to 12 inches of rain has fallen in northeastern Harris County, the nation's third-largest county that includes Houston.
Adams stated that the storms on Sunday were expected to bring up to an additional 3 inches of rainfall, with up to 8 inches possible in some areas before easing off in the evening.
“It’s going to be raining throughout the day and some of the storms could be producing heavier downpours,” Adams said.
Child dies in floodwaters
In Johnson County, located south of Fort Worth, a 5-year-old boy died when he was swept away after the vehicle he was in became stuck in fast-moving water near the community of Lillian just before 2 a.m. Sunday, an official said.
The child and two adults were attempting to reach dry ground when they were swept away, Jamie Moore, the Johnson County Emergency Management director, wrote in a Facebook post.
The two adults were rescued around 5 a.m. and taken to a hospital, while the child was found dead around 7:20 a.m. in the water, Moore said.
Storms brought as much as 9 inches of rain in a span of six to eight hours in some areas from central Texas to Dallas-Fort Worth overnight, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Matt Stalley. He also mentioned that the rains washed out some roads west of Waco.
Houston-area river levels
Over the past few days, storms have necessitated numerous high-water rescues in the Houston area, including some from the tops of flooded homes.
Jeff Lindner, a meteorologist with the Harris County Flood Control District, said Sunday afternoon that “things are improving slowly.”
“We have water receding on our river systems,” said Lindner. The San Jacinto River reached its peak on Saturday, with its east and west forks and main stem below Lake Houston dropping from 1 to 3 feet overnight, he said.
Lindner stated that so far, Sunday’s additional rain did not seem to be causing any new flooding. He urged people to still be cautious, noting that many areas are still flooded.
“We really need everybody to wait just one more day before we feel confident that conditions are safe,” Lindner said.
Greg Moss, 68, was staying in his RV on Sunday after leaving his home in the community of Channelview in eastern Harris County near the San Jacinto River. On Saturday, he packed up many of his belongings and left before the road to his home flooded.
“I would be stuck for four days,” Moss said: “So now at least I can go get something to eat.”
Moss moved his belongings and vehicle to a neighbor’s home, where he plans to stay until the waters recede. He mentioned on Sunday that the floodwaters had already subsided by a couple of feet and that he wasn’t concerned about his home flooding because it’s situated on higher ground.
He said it would be fine to enter there in the morning.
Houston is likely to have floods.
Houston is one of the areas in the country most prone to flooding. The city with over 2 million residents has extensive experience dealing with severe weather.
In 2017, Hurricane Harvey brought record rainfall that flooded thousands of homes and led to over 60,000 rescues by government workers in Harris County.
The larger Houston area spans about 10,000 square miles, slightly larger than New Jersey. It is intersected by around 1,700 miles of waterways flowing into the Gulf of Mexico, approximately 50 miles southeast of downtown.
The network of waterways and reservoirs was constructed to drain heavy rains, but the infrastructure, designed nearly a century ago, has struggled to keep pace with the city's expansion and more intense storms.
