Latest on weather: Dallas-area officials warn of flood risk
May 31, 2015, 8:30 PM
In this aerial photo, people canoe through floodwaters past a stop sign near Bear Creek Park Saturday, May 30, 2015, in Houston. The Colorado River in Wharton and the Brazos and San Jacinto rivers near Houston are the main focus of concern as floodwaters move from North and Central Texas downstream toward the Gulf of Mexico. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)n
(AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
10 p.m. (CDT)
Authorities in Dallas County are warning that some cities could see flooding overnight.
A statement Sunday night from the office of Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins says officials are monitoring flooding in Dallas, Carrollton and Irving, among other cities, as well as an unincorporated area.
The statement says some streets in Dallas have been closed and floodwaters in some areas were stranding vehicles. It also says residents of about 20-25 mobiles home in an unincorporated area of the county have been asked to evacuate due to the potential of flooding. The American Red Cross was working to provide shelter for those who need it.
The statement warns that Monday morning commuter traffic could be affected.
2:50 p.m. (CDT)
The missing person count in Texas following a series of deadly storms has fallen after authorities learned of two people reported they safely avoided the flooded area.
Blanco County spokesman Ben Oakley says a man told authorities Saturday that he and his child made it safely out of the county. He says the pair was unaware until recently they had been counted among the missing.
Another person was reported as missing that same day, leaving the total number of lost people at 10. At least 31 were killed in Oklahoma and Texas this month by storms that dropped record rainfall across the states.
Oakley says search crews should finish their initial sweep of the Blanco and Little Blanco rivers on Sunday and are preparing for a second search.
1:30 p.m. (CDT)
Texas transportation officials say a serious of record storms have caused at least $27 million in infrastructure damage and that the estimate is expected to rise.
State Department of Transportation spokeswoman Veronica Beyer said Sunday that roadways in 167 of the state’s 254 counties suffered some form of storm damage in May. A wide swath of the state, from Amarillo in the Texas Panhandle to Houston near the Gulf of Mexico, has been impacted.
As of Sunday at least 155 roads were underwater or closed due to damages.
Transportation officials have already spent about $3 million in labor and equipment after what National Weather Service forecasters estimate is a 150-to-200 year flood event. Workers have already inspected close to 100 bridges and are working to further assess damages.
1:15 p.m. (CDT)
Authorities say more than 160 homes near Victoria, Texas, have been flooded or threatened by rising waters but that no injuries have been reported in the area.
Capt. Rex Mayes with the Victoria County Sheriff’s Office said Sunday that emergency management workers did a great job preparing for floodwaters working their way down the Guadalupe River after a series of storms and record rainfall that left at least 31 people dead and 11 missing.
The National Weather Service reports the river crested at 30.19 feet Saturday in Victoria and remained in a major flood stage Sunday. River levels were expected to drop to a minor flood stage by Friday.
Mayes says there have been voluntary evacuations in the area but no reports of significant infrastructure damage
11:20 a.m. (CDT)
Preliminary damage estimates show the flooding from recent torrential rains in the Houston area will cost at least $45 million.
Francisco Sanchez with the Harris County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management says as of Saturday there was more than $25 million in damage to public utilities and infrastructure.
He said Sunday that the cost to remove storm debris from bayous, flooded neighborhoods and elsewhere is about $15 million. There’s another $4.5 million in damage to buildings and equipment.
Sanchez says there are about 1,500 homes in Harris County, including those in Houston, with some level of flood damage, and this number will increase as damage-assessment teams canvass the area.
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11:30 p.m. (CDT)
The Dallas County Sheriff’s Department says a 7-year-old girl has been killed after a crash that ejected her into floodwaters.
Sheriff’s spokesman Raul Reyna tells the Dallas Morning News (http://bit.ly/1I13fMW ) that the girl, her mother, a man and three other children were in a vehicle that crossed one or two lanes of U.S. Highway 175, hit an embankment and flipped over into the water Saturday evening.
Reyna said the 7-year-old and a 9-year-old were ejected, and that fire department rescuers were able to save the older child. The younger child was carried away in the water, and Reyna confirmed about 8:30 p.m. that crews had found her body.
Reyna said the other children were hospitalized in stable condition. The adults were also hospitalized but their conditions were not known.
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