Two people have died in flood-related incidents in southeast Texas, authorities said Friday.
In Brenham, a person found dead in a mobile home is believed to have drowned, said police spokeswoman Angela Hahn.
A second person found dead in a vehicle swept away by floodwaters is thought to have died of a heart attack, Hahn said.
Another person is missing in Brenham. In Travis County, two people are missing, said Travis County Emergency Management spokeswoman Lisa Block.
Flash-flood emergencies [were] in effect Friday for much of southeast Texas after it received more than 16 inches of rain the day before.
Dozens of people had to be rescued after they became trapped in cars and flooded homes. People attempting to watch the flooding had to be rescued, the National Weather Service said.
Judge Paul Pape said more than 100 homes flooded in Bastrop County, forcing at least 50 families into shelters. Pape said the Colorado River is expected to crest around 8 to 9 feet above flood stage Friday afternoon and may cause more evacuations.
The storm felled numerous trees. In Conroe, Mark Moore told CNN affiliate KTRK-TV a tree crashed through his roof and landed a few feet from where he sat on a bed.
“I heard a loud thud,” he told the Houston station. “Everything was calm and then it just, boom.”
The tree took down an awning on his back porch, where his four grandchildren had been playing about 15 minutes earlier.
Also in Brenham, some children had to spend the night at school because high water made roads impassable to school buses and parents’ vehicles. The school district canceled Friday classes.
CNN meteorologist Dave Hennen predicted heavy rain and storms throughout the area, with 3 to 6 inches of rain in some spots. Mandatory evacuations have been ordered for communities along the Colorado River.
Radar shows a heavy downpour of rain moving through the area, continuing a week of a dark and stormy weather over a swath of the Plains. The streak of heavy thunderstorms, hail, flooding and tornadoes began Monday.
Southeast Texas has been pounded with horrific weather lately, with two 500-year flood events in two months.
“Basically, it’s a 1-in-500 chance of it happening in any year,” said CNN meteorologist Taylor Ward. “Happening twice in a single year is very bad luck.”
The Houston area experienced its wettest April on record last month, with almost 14 inches of rain. The storm killed at least eight people in Texas and flooded 1,000 homes. The previous record was almost 11 inches in April 1976.
The 16-17 inches of rain recorded Thursday also qualifies as a 500-year event, Ward said.
Not to forget the deadly storms of May 2015, which killed at least 22 people in Texas.