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[h=4]More rain falling in central Texas[/h]11 still missing along Blanco River in Central Texas.
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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 — The nation's fourth-largest city struggled to regain its footing Wednesday after flooding killed at least five people, damaged thousands of structures and stranded thousands on inundated roads, according to authorities.
New thunderstorms were snarling traffic but didn't appear to be making existing problems worse, they said. About 2½ inches of rain has fallen in north and northwest Harris County, where Houston is located, since midnight; more than double that has been reported in counties northwest of Houston.
"Our sympathies go out to the families of those we know we have lost," Mayor Annise Parker said.
Two people were missing after their rescue boat flipped on Brays Bayou following torrential rains overnight. Fire Capt. Ruy Lozano said rescue crews are searching the bayou by water and air.
USA TODAY
Floodwaters raise casket from Houston cemetery
At least two people had drowned in the area Tuesday — .a woman in her 50s and a man that police believe was swept away during a rescue attempt. Parker said a fifth person died after he had a heart attack pushing his car to dry ground.
Firefighters in the Houston area answered 2,300 calls for help Tuesday, and at least 2,500 drivers have abandoned their vehicles as they sought higher ground. 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.
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)
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"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 Midlothian, about 25 miles southwest of Dallas, residents were expecting an earthen dam holding in Padera Lake to break because water already was flowing over the dam; however, engineers and builders say the dam is stable. Officials still are awaiting official word from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
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.
USA TODAY
In Texas, flooding leaves disaster in its wake
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.
USA TODAY
Official: 'Wall of water destroyed everything in its path'
"We will respond effectively to face these challenges," Abbott said.
In Hays County in central Texas, where a wall of water rushed down the Blanco River late Saturday and into Sunday destroying homes along its banks, 11 people were still missing early Wednesday, including eight swept away when one house in Wimberley slammed into a bridge after being ripped from its foundation and carried downstream.
Volunteer Brice Barnes spent Tuesday looking for survivors along the Blanco.
[h=3]11 missing[/h] In Hays County, Texas, southwest of Austin, 11 people remained missing Wednesday after initial flooding late Saturday; eight were in one family enjoying a holiday weekend at their Blanco River house near Wimberley.
• Ralph Hugh Carey, 73
• Sue McNeil Carey, 71
• William Randall Charba, 42
• Michelle Marie Carey-Charba, 43
• William Charba, 6
• Laura Schultz McComb, 34
• Andrew McComb, 6
• Leighton McComb, 4
• Jose Alvero Arteaga-Pichardo, 29
• Kenneth Reissig, 81
• Dayton Larry Thomas, 74
Source: Hays County (Texas) Sheriff's Office
"The amount of help that's needed here is something you can pan around and see," Barnes said. "It's staggering, absolutely staggering."
In total, 17 people have died since Friday because of the storms in Oklahoma and Texas. Another 13 people were killed when a tornado touched down Monday in the Mexican border town of Ciudad Acuña, about 150 miles west of San Antonio.
In Wimberley, officials said the Blanco River at one point rose 12 to 14 feet in a overnight 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.
"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
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