Another Texas city threatened by rising water

[Luke Skywalker]

{vb:raw ozzmodz_postquote}:

Get the news
Log In or Subscribe to skip

238 4 [h=6]Share This Story![/h]Let friends in your social network know what you are reading about

[h=4]Another Texas city threatened by rising water[/h]11 still missing along Blanco River in Central Texas.

{# #}
[h=4]Sent![/h]A link has been sent to your friend's email address.



[h=4]Posted![/h]A link has been posted to your Facebook feed.



[h=6]Join the Nation's Conversation[/h]To find out more about Facebook commenting please read the Conversation Guidelines and FAQs

[h=2]UP NEXT[/h][h=2]03[/h]


Massive flooding damaged thousands of homes and buildings, and stranded thousands of drivers in Houston. VPC


Kevin Calaway pries apart debris from a cabin shattered from a flood days earlier at a resort along the Blanco River, May 26, 2015, in Wimberley, Texas.(Photo: Elaine Thompson, AP)


HOUSTON — Texas broke a record for rain this month, and rain remains in the forecast for the much of the state until June, the state climatologist said Wednesday.
An average of 7.54 inches already has fallen over the state in May, breaking the previous record of 6.66 inches set in June 2004, according to state climatologist John Nielsen-Gammon.
The wettest area throughout the month has been Dallas-Fort Worth to the Red River, where some places have received more than 20 inches of rain, he said.
The storms that produced the flooding were part of a system that stretched from Mexico into the central U.S. The death toll from the system climbed to 35 — 14 in Mexico, 17 in Texas and four in Oklahoma. The Houston area alone had seven storm-related deaths.
The toll includes Michelle Marie Carey-Charba, 43, one of eight family members missing since late Saturday when their house was swept into the Blanco River in Wimberley, Texas.
And now there's another city in danger.
Mayor Domingo Montalvo issued a call at 5 p.m. CT Wednesday for a voluntary evacuation of the west side of Wharton, a city in South Texas because of the predicted rise of Colorado River. The Colorado triggered flash flooding in the Austin and Texas Hill Country sections of its watershed upstream.
The National Weather Service reported the river level at Wharton was almost 36 feet at 2 p.m. Wednesday. Flood stage is 39 feet. The river is expected to top that level Wednesday night and not crest until it reaches almost 46 feet Friday evening. That would cause major flooding in the western part of Wharton, with many homes in that second getting up to 2 to 3 feet of water and isolating and flooding the school in southwest Wharton is isolated.
Wharton, 55 miles southwest of Houston, has about 8,800 residents.
USA TODAY
Floodwaters raise casket from Houston cemetery




Houston struggled to regain its footing Wednesday after flooding damaged thousands of structures and stranded thousands on inundated roads, according to authorities.
Houston Mayor Annise Parker said two people whose boat capsized during a rescue remained missing. Another person was missing in suburban Houston.
"Our sympathies go out to the families of those we know we have lost," Parker said.
USA TODAY
Dogs turn up in flood aftermath without identification




The body of the seventh person believed to be killed by Houston flooding Monday night was found Wednesday.
A search for 73-year-old Alice Tovar had been ongoing since her family reported her missing Tuesday afternoon when she failed to appear for work. Her car was found later Tuesday in a ditch near flooded Big Creek in a rural area six miles south of Rosenberg and about 30 miles southwest of Houston.
A Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office statement says searchers came upon the body Wednesday evening of what is believed to be an elderly woman. The Galveston County Medical Examiner's Office will determine positive identification, but family and investigators believe the body to be that of Tovar.
Two persons remained missing late Wednesday after their rescue boat flipped on Brays Bayou. Fire Capt. Ruy Lozano said rescue crews have been searching the bayou by water and air.
Firefighters in the Houston area answered 2,300 calls for help Tuesday, and at least 2,500 drivers abandoned their vehicles as they sought higher ground. City officials said they've towed 750 abandoned, flooded and likely totaled cars from streets, and owners will have to pay a minimum of $225.80 to release theirs from the impound lot, more if they decide to wait.

Hudson Doty, 18, left, and Grant Guzal, 17, stand overlooking the Blanco River near the cement stilts of the Carey family home, far left, in Wimberley, Texas. The Careys have been missing since May 24 after their home was swept away by the Blanco River in a flash flood.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>(Photo: Rodolfo Gonzalez, Austin American-Statesman, via AP)




Last SlideNext Slide

Two people were found dead in their vehicles stuck in high water, including a Hispanic woman in her 50s who was heading to work at a grocery store around midnight. Police believe her truck stalled and the water pressure trapped her inside.
"People, they just don't anticipate how deep that water really is. It looks like a couple of inches until you're into it too late," Houston Police Cpl. Kate Truhan said. "We try to warn people each time there is heavy rain, but they always think they can make it."
On Wednesday in Millsap, Texas, about 50 miles west of Fort Worth, authorities ordered the evacuation of about 350 homes because the swollen Brazos River is expected to flood the area early Thursday.
USA TODAY
In Texas, flooding leaves disaster in its wake




In Midlothian, about 25 miles southwest of Dallas, residents received a bit of good news: They were expecting an earthen dam holding in Padera Lake to break because water already was flowing over the dam; however, engineers and builders say it is stable. Officials still are awaiting official word from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to determine if work needs to be done to shore up the structure.
The National Weather Service had expected the levee to break Wednesday morning. U.S. 287 was being prepared to close in case the road became flooded. Up to 15 feet of water was possible.
[h=3]Hundreds of homes damaged[/h] Officials in counties where rain was the heaviest have released these estimates of flood damage;
• Harris County. 800 to 1,400 homes damaged
• San Marcos, Hays County. 744 damaged or destroyed
• Wimberley, Hays County. 400 destroyed, 1,300 damaged
Source: USA TODAY research



Stephanie Parker with the Ellis County Emergency Management Agency said people living near the dam were notified of the potential break, and livestock was moved to higher ground.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has declared 46 counties in central Texas as state disaster areas since heavy rains began falling on the Lone Star State. Many of those areas expect to see scattered thunderstorms for at least the next five days.
"We will respond effectively to face these challenges," Abbott said.
In Hays County in central Texas, a wall of water rushed down the Blanco River late Saturday and into Sunday, sweeping away homes and at least 13 people, including members of the Charba family.
The body of 29-year-old Jose Alvero Arteaga was found Wednesday afternoon near Loop 165 in Wimberley.
The body of a third person, an unidentified man found in San Marcos, will need DNA testing to identify.
Wimberley officials said the Blanco at one point rose 12 to 14 feet in a half-hour Saturday, and it still is moving at a good clip. They estimate that as many as 400 homes have been destroyed and up to 1,300 damaged. Key infrastructure also has been destroyed.
"This was no joke. It was a wall of water," said Gay Sullivan, adding that she and her husband, Mike, knew they needed to leave.
USA TODAY
Official: 'Wall of water destroyed everything in its path'




"He told me this is different because we have been through a lot of floods. This house has never flooded, and he said this one is different," she said.
City officials knew, too. She said the warnings were frequent and stern on the landline, but authorities have acknowledged that those with cellphones or who were visiting from out of town may have been missed.
Kharley Smith, Hays County emergency management coordinator, did not know whether anyone in the washed-away home had heard the warnings and said notifying part-time residents can be difficult. A county alert siren is 20 miles away in San Marcos, too far to hear.
"I don't think we would have had time to get out," said Charles Boatright, a part-time resident who wasn't at his Wimberley vacation home over Memorial Day weekend but checked on it Tuesday knowing it had been damaged in the flood.
Law enforcement did knock on doors of homes as a last resort, and those who had landlines were called repeatedly, county officials said.
"We were kept posted, posted, posted," Gay Sullivan said. "By the last message — because the phones went out — they were frantic telling us it was coming. ... Move to higher ground. ... It was coming."
Contributing: KHOU-TV, Houston; KVUE-TV, Austin; WFAA-TV, Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas; The Associated Press

WEEKEND STORMS WREAK HAVOC IN TEXAS AND OKLAHOMACleanup and search continues in Wimberley, Texas | 01:31Floodwaters deepened across much of Texas on Tuesday as storms dumped almost a foot more of rain on the Houston area. In central Texas, the search continued for people missing in deadly flooding. (May 26) AP

WEEKEND STORMS WREAK HAVOC IN TEXAS AND OKLAHOMA'Historic' flood causes major damage in Houston | 01:10Massive flooding damaged thousands of homes and buildings, and stranded thousands of drivers in Houston. VPC

WEEKEND STORMS WREAK HAVOC IN TEXAS AND OKLAHOMAAerials show extent of historic Texas floods | 01:23Aerial footage of flooding in Houston shows completely submerged cars, water filled roads and even a man traveling by kayak. VPC

WEEKEND STORMS WREAK HAVOC IN TEXAS AND OKLAHOMADeadly flood sweeps away family: 'We know they're gone' | 01:26A Texas family of four were swept away by severe flood waters with only the father being able to escape. The victim's family has come to accept the likely outcome. VPC

WEEKEND STORMS WREAK HAVOC IN TEXAS AND OKLAHOMAFlood kills homecoming queen driving home from prom | 01:18A Texas community is mourning a high school homecoming queen who was killed when flood waters overtook her car. Alyssa Ramirez was just two miles from her home. VPC

WEEKEND STORMS WREAK HAVOC IN TEXAS AND OKLAHOMAFlooded roads leave Houston at standstill | 02:25Heavy rains have shut down Houston's highways, forcing some drivers to abandon their cars, while others slept inside them. Some people in the worst areas had to actually swim to safety. VPC

WEEKEND STORMS WREAK HAVOC IN TEXAS AND OKLAHOMAFlood splits woman's house in two after neighbors save her | 01:25Flood waters destroyed many homes in Texas, and a woman whose house was split in two says she would have been killed in the flood without the help of her neighbors. VPC

WEEKEND STORMS WREAK HAVOC IN TEXAS AND OKLAHOMATwister Kills 13 in Mexico Border City; 12 Missing In Texas | 00:44A tornado raged through a city on the U.S.-Mexico border Monday, destroying homes, flinging cars like matchsticks, and ripping an infant from its mother's arms. Authorities said that at least 13 people were killed. USA TODAY

WEEKEND STORMS WREAK HAVOC IN TEXAS AND OKLAHOMAResidents Reported Missing in Texas and Oklahoma as New Storms Strike | 01:00At least 12 people were reported missing on Monday after floodwaters swept homes, cars and people away in parts of Oklahoma and Texas over the weekend. USA TODAY

WEEKEND STORMS WREAK HAVOC IN TEXAS AND OKLAHOMABusy Houston roads flood, now look like rivers | 00:54Some secondary highways near Houston are filled with abandoned, flooded vehicles. VPC

WEEKEND STORMS WREAK HAVOC IN TEXAS AND OKLAHOMAFamilies search for missing after deadly Texas storms | 01:15Hays County, Texas suffered extensive damage following torrential rain that destroyed more than 350 homes and displaced 1,000 residents, leaving several missing, including the family of a former Nueces County commissioner. VPC

WEEKEND STORMS WREAK HAVOC IN TEXAS AND OKLAHOMATX Residents Wake Up to Severe Storm Damage | 01:03A line of storms caused major flooding and dangerous tornado winds for Corpus Christi where a preschool center was badly damaged. (May 25) AP

WEEKEND STORMS WREAK HAVOC IN TEXAS AND OKLAHOMAEF-1 tornado rips apart Houston apartment complex | 01:33The National Weather Service confirmed that an EF-1 tornado touched down in Houston on Sunday. The tornado produced 100 mph winds that tore apart the roof of a local apartment building. KHOU

WEEKEND STORMS WREAK HAVOC IN TEXAS AND OKLAHOMAAerial views show massive storm damage in Houston | 02:04Fly over an apartment complex that collapsed from high winds in Houston. The area's been hit by severe weather and heavy rain. VPC

WEEKEND STORMS WREAK HAVOC IN TEXAS AND OKLAHOMAFamily stuck in car in rising flood fight their way out | 01:03A family of four got stuck after driving their car into high floodwaters in San Antonio, Texas. The mom suffers from a brain tumor and they were on the way to the hospital when the car started filling with water. VPC





Last VideoNext Video


0) { %> 0) { %>
0) { %>




Powered By WizardRSS.com | Full Text RSS Feed