In Texas, more rain and flash flood warnings

Before Saturday's rain, the National Weather Service said 16.07 inches of rain fell across the Dallas area in May, easily eclipsing a 1982 record of 13.66.

7 p.m. (CDT)

Heavy rain caused minor flooding inside Minute Maid Park as the Houston Astros hosted the Chicago White Sox.

The downpour began midway through the game Saturday. The rain swept through the area and obscured the view outside as it rolled down the glass panels of the roof.

The water seeped into a couple of concourses in the stadium and drainage issues caused flooding of 3 to 4 inches. The water stood for about five or six minutes, according to the Astros.

The public address announcer told fans during the seventh inning that the stadium would remain open after the game for those who wanted to wait out the weather. Only a handful of fans remained in the stadium an hour after the game.

There was an announcement around 6:45 p.m. that the weather had passed and people needed to leave the ballpark because the doors would close at 7 p.m.

___

6:45 p.m. (CDT)

Authorities in Central Texas have recovered the body of a second woman killed in flash flooding last weekend along the Blanco River.

Hays County officials say in a statement that a search team recovered the body Saturday afternoon near the river in the Wimberley area.

It was the second body recovered Saturday along the river. Earlier in the day, a search team recovered a woman's body along the river about midway between Wimberley and San Marcos.

Autopsies will be needed to identify both women. County officials say it's not known if the two bodies and that of a man recovered Thursday are those of three of the six people still listed as missing in Hays County from the flood.

The discovery brings to eight the number of people confirmed as killed in the flood and 27 killed in last weekend's storms statewide. Eleven people remain missing — six in Hays County and five in adjoining Blanco County.

___

5:40 p.m. (CDT)

Thunderstorms have been battering areas of rain-weary Houston with heavy downpours and small hail.

The city's primary electric provider, CenterPoint Energy, reported more than 18,000 customers without power as the late afternoon storms moved through. Outages primarily have been immediately to the west of downtown Houston and in the far north and northeast sections of the city.

Harris County Flood Control District spokesman Jeff Lindner says some street flooding has been reported but describes the situation so far as routine. He says the storms fortunately have been moving and not stationary. Some county rain gauges show rainfall has exceeded 2 inches.

Lindner says officials are monitoring watersheds and bayous.

___

4:15 p.m. (CDT)

A search team has recovered a woman's body from the Blanco River bank near San Marcos.

A Hays County statement says the body was found about 5 miles upstream from San Marcos and about 5 miles downstream from Wimberley.

The statement says no identification has been made pending autopsy on her body or that of a man whose body was found Thursday at the Hays-Blanco county line upstream.

That brings to seven the number of bodies found in Hays County and 26 the number of deaths in Texas storms. It still isn't known if the two unidentified bodies are on the Hays County list of six missing or the 11 missing across Texas.

___

3:10 p.m. (CDT)

National Weather Service forecasters said Saturday that their expectations for more heavy rain in Southeast Texas will depend on timing. A cold front is gradually approaching from the west and northwest, and a weak sea breeze was expected to develop from the Gulf of Mexico nearby to the southeast. Both were expected to produce scattered showers and thunderstorms Saturday.

"There is some concern that these features could collide late this (Saturday) afternoon. If this occurs, the precipitation would increase in coverage and intensity," according to a National Weather Service statement.

___

3 p.m. (CDT)

Authorities in the Southeast Texas city of Wharton are considering lifting a mandatory evacuation after floodwaters from the Colorado River failed to reach homes or businesses.

The river peaked Saturday just shy of major flooding and the National Weather Service predicts it will exit flood stage by the evening. Flooding from the river in the area began Thursday and 30 homes were ordered evacuated Friday.

City spokeswoman Paula Favors says nine people stayed overnight in a Red Cross shelter. She says there haven't been any reported weather-related injuries in the city of about 8,500 residents.

__

2:45 p.m. (CDT)

Forecasters predict more flooding from the Brazos River in the Houston area as the waters from recent storms continue to work downriver.

The National Weather Service says the river near the suburb of Rosharon will remain in moderate flood stage throughout Saturday and should climb to nearly 51 feet, about 8 feet above flood stage.

The suburb of Richmond should rise to a moderate flood stage Saturday afternoon but stop shy of major flooding Monday before receding.

Flooding in the San Jacinto and Colorado rivers are expected to soon subside. The San Jacinto River north of Houston remains in a major flood stage, which should end late Saturday. The Colorado River at Wharton peaked Saturday just shy of major flooding and is predicted to exit flood stage by the evening.

___

1:25 p.m. (CDT)

One of the Dallas area's traffic arteries will remain closed for up to a week as transportation officials pump out floodwaters.

A depression on Loop 12 beneath the stacked Interstate 30 and a Union Pacific rail overpasses flooded during a downpour early Friday, snarling traffic.

The Texas Department of Transportation has brought in heavy-duty pumps to draw the water from the depression into the nearby Trinity River.

For now, the freeway is closed in both directions between Interstate 30 in Dallas and Texas 356 in Irving.

___

12:03 p.m. (CDT)

The National Weather Service has issued a flood watch for portions of Central and South Texas, which could see as much as five inches of rain Saturday if a storm system stalls over the area.

Lead Forecaster Scott Overpeck in Houston says between 1 and 2 inches of rain is projected in the greater Houston area Saturday afternoon and evening.

He says the storms will likely be slow-moving. If it stalls out, some parts of the already-waterlogged area could receive between 4 and 5 inches in a few hours.

Additional rainfall could cause more flooding along the Brazos River and the city's bayous.

May storms have already resulted in at least 29 deaths, with 25 of those in Texas. At least 11 people are still missing in Texas.

___

10:45 a.m. (CDT)

Dallas police say a man's body was recovered from standing water after storms flooded parts of the metro.

That brings the death toll to 29 people who've been killed in storms that began in Texas and Oklahoma over Memorial Day weekend — 25 in Texas alone. Eleven were still missing Saturday.

Dallas police spokesman Juan Fernandez said Saturday that officers found a man, who hasn't been identified, floating in the water Friday.

Fernandez said the body has been sent to the county medical examiner's office to determine the official cause of death.

Storms dumped as much as 7 inches across the area Thursday night.

The other Dallas-area death discovered Friday was a man who drowned in his truck after it was swept into a culvert in the suburb of Mesquite.

9 a.m. (CDT)

The Dallas-Fort Worth area is seeing another round of heavy rain.

The National Weather Service extended a flash flood warning from 8:45 a.m. Saturday to 11:45 a.m. for Dallas, Johnson and Tarrant counties. There were no immediate reports of rescues Saturday morning.

Rivers around the Dallas area have all swelled in the last week.

Before Saturday's rain, the National Weather Service said 16.07 inches of rain fell across the Dallas area in May, easily eclipsing a 1982 record of 13.66.

7:45 a.m. (CDT)

The Dallas-Fort Worth area is seeing another round of heavy rain.

The National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning until 8:45 a.m. Saturday for Johnson and Tarrant counties. There were no immediate reports of rescues Saturday morning.

Rivers around the Dallas area have all swelled in the last week.

Before Saturday's rain, the National Weather Service said 16.07 inches of rain fell across the Dallas area in May, easily eclipsing a 1982 record of 13.66.

___

1 a.m. (CDT)

Flood concerns are lingering in Texas, with more storms in the forecast.

At least 28 people have been killed in storms that began pummeling Texas and Oklahoma over Memorial Day weekend. Twenty-four of the deaths have been in Texas alone. Eleven were still missing early Saturday.

Rivers and lakes around Houston, San Antonio and Dallas have all swelled. And forecasters are predicting more rain this weekend.

The Colorado River in Wharton and the Brazos and San Jacinto rivers near Houston are the main areas of concern as floodwaters move from North and Central Texas downstream toward the Gulf of Mexico.

Forecasters said the Colorado River at Wharton could crest on Saturday, causing major flooding in the community 60 miles southwest of Houston.

___

11:30 p.m. (CDT)

President Barack Obama has signed a disaster declaration for Texas after severe flooding this week.

The White House said Obama declared that he ordered federal aid to supplement other recovery efforts in the area affected by severe weather since May 4.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott had earlier requested a presidential disaster declaration to get federal help for the counties affected.

Obama's action makes federal funding available to affected individuals in Harris, Hays, and Van Zandt counties.

Funding also is available to governments and some nonprofits on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work and repairs in Cooke, Gaines, Grimes, Harris, Hays, Navarro, and Van Zandt counties.

Meanwhile, the hunt for missing people continues.

 A handful of volunteers trudged along the muddy and brush-filled banks of the Blanco River in Central Texas, searching for a group of people still missing days after the vacation house where they were staying was swept away in a massive flood.

A soggy teddy bear caught in a tree provided a stark reminder that children were among the missing. The volunteers, led by Toby Baker, a commissioner with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, marked where the bear was found. They talked about the pajamas the children were wearing the night the river crested.

Baker had come in an unofficial capacity, as a childhood friend of one of the missing. "I've got a young family," he said Friday. "I'd like to think someone would come out and do the same for us."

At least 28 people have been killed in storms that began pummeling Texas and Oklahoma over Memorial Day weekend. Twenty-four of the deaths have been in Texas alone, and 11 people were still missing early Saturday. Rivers and lakes around Houston, San Antonio and Dallas have all swelled — and the flooding may not let up, with forecasters predicting more rain this weekend.

A church in Wimberley, a small tourist town about 20 miles northwest from where Baker's group was working, has become a meeting spot for volunteers who've come to help look for the missing in that area.

About 2,000 volunteers have come through this week, and 100 members of an elite search and rescue team have been deployed to the area. Rescue dog teams walked about and a helicopter used the church lawn to take off and land.

Some volunteers have personal connections to the missing; others just want to help. Using rakes and pitchforks, they sift through dense debris along miles of river.

Volunteer Terry Arnold, 59, from Corpus Christi, said he knew some of the missing. But "in Texas we are all family," he added. "And we've got to find those babies."

Curtis Jinkins, a local graphic designer, carried a burnt-orange plank, a piece of the vacation home found about 40 miles downstream from Wimberley. "The kids are what are tugging at me to do this," he said.

Among the missing is 6-year-old William Charba, the son of Randy Charba, 42, and Michelle Charba, 43. Michelle's body was found Wednesday. Michelle's mother Sue Carey, 71, is still missing, but officials said late Friday they had identified the remains of her father, retired dentist Ralph Carey, 73.

The vacation home that was ripped from its moors by floodwaters last weekend belonged to the Careys.

Jonathan McComb, the lone survivor from the house, and his family had joined the Charbas and the Careys for the holiday weekend, all coming from Corpus Christi. McComb's wife, Laura, 33, and 4-year-old daughter, Leighton, are still unaccounted for. The body of their 6-year-old son, Andrew, was found Wednesday in the river.

Storms this weekend could hamper search efforts and prompt more evacuations.

The Colorado River in Wharton and the Brazos and San Jacinto rivers near Houston were the main areas of concern as floodwaters moved from North and Central Texas downstream toward the Gulf of Mexico.

On Friday, floodwater was creeping into neighborhoods in the Houston suburb of Kingwood near the swollen San Jacinto River, where residents were keeping a close eye on water levels.

"Everybody's worried about it," James Simms said from his second-story balcony, looking down at a flood that had reached his garage. "Those people who are going to leave are already gone. There's others like us who are going to wait until it's mandatory."

The Brazos River, which had been receding, rose above flood stage again Friday in Parker County, west of Fort Worth, and was expected to climb higher with the planned opening of the flood gates at Possum Kingdom Lake upstream. People in about 250 homes near the river were asked to evacuate.

Forecasters said the Colorado River at Wharton could crest on Saturday, causing major flooding in the community 60 miles southwest of Houston. Voluntary evacuations were underway in low-lying west side.

This week's record rainfall in Texas eased the state's drought and swelled rivers and lakes to the point that they may not return to normal levels until July.

___

Associated Press reporters Jamie Stengle and Allen Reed in Dallas; Juan A. Lozano in Houston; and John L. Mone in Kingwood contributed to this report.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

QR Code to In Texas, more rain and flash flood warnings
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2015/0530/In-Texas-more-rain-and-flash-flood-warnings
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe