Alfred Smith calls family while walking in front of his neighbor's home after a tornado touched down in Bryan, Texas, May 26, 2016.(Photo: Timothy Hurst, AP)
A severe storm system dumped record<span style="color: Red;">*</span>rainfall and caused major flooding in central Texas,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>sweeping away two people in<span style="color: Red;">*</span>a car in Travis County early Friday and<span style="color: Red;">*</span>forcing emergency officials in adjoining Bastrop County<span style="color: Red;">*</span>to urge motorists to<span style="color: Red;">*</span>stay off all roadways.
STAR Flight, the Travis County air rescue squad, said it had snatched nine people and two dogs from floodwaters.
The National<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Weather service reported<span style="color: Red;">*</span>"amazing and record-shattering" rainfall in portions of the state Thursday, including 16.62 inches of rain in Brenham, about 80 miles northwest of Houston. The deluge — the most rainfall ever in the city<span style="color: Red;">*</span>—<span style="color: Red;">*</span>doubled its<span style="color: Red;">*</span>year-to-date rainfall total, which now stands at 33.06 inches.
Flash flood<span style="color: Red;">*</span>warnings were issued for<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Bastrop, Caldwell, Fayette and Lee Counties. In Travis County, where Austin is located, residents in one community were told simply<span style="color: Red;">*</span>to shelter in place,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>KVUE-TV reports.
Fire crews in<span style="color: Red;">*</span>southeast<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Travis County<span style="color: Red;">*</span>said two people in a car were swept away around<span style="color: Red;">*</span>1:15 a.m. Friday by surging<span style="color: Red;">*</span>floodwaters.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Police said the pair<span style="color: Red;">*</span>reportedly<span style="color: Red;">*</span>got stuck in a tree, and<span style="color: Red;">*</span>rescue crews<span style="color: Red;">*</span>were<span style="color: Red;">*</span>trying to locate the vehicle and the missing people, according to<span style="color: Red;">*</span>KXAN-TV.
In Bastrop County,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>officials ordered 120 houses evacuated early Friday because of the fast-rising Colorado River.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Some parts of the county, located 15 miles southeast of Austin, received<span style="color: Red;">*</span>10 inches of rain in just 12 hours.
At one point, the<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Bastrop County Emergency Management office warned of "extremely<span style="color: Red;">*</span>dangerous<span style="color: Red;">*</span>conditions" on all county roads and streets and urged motorists to<span style="color: Red;">*</span>"avoid driving anywhere in the county."<span style="color: Red;">*</span>It said emergency teams were hampered by high water and overwhelmed with water rescues.
In Bryan, Texas, two drivers were<span style="color: Red;">*</span>rescued from their<span style="color: Red;">*</span>vehicles after getting stuck in<span style="color: Red;">*</span>high water.
The heavy rainfall is<span style="color: Red;">*</span>part of a severe<span style="color: Red;">*</span>storm system in the Plains that triggered flooding and tornadoes from Texas to Kansas and into Missouri.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>A cluster of slow-moving thunderstorms is dumping heavy rain over the same areas continuously,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Weather.com meteorologist Brian Donegan said.
The National Weather service warned additional<span style="color: Red;">*</span>severe thunderstorms<span style="color: Red;">*</span>—<span style="color: Red;">*</span>including large hail, damaging winds and a few tornadoes<span style="color: Red;">*</span>— are possible in<span style="color: Red;">*</span>eastern Texas, southern Oklahoma and southwest Arkansas.
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