This is a developing story and will be updated throughout the day as information is verified.
Judge Ed Emmett has signed disaster declaration for Harris County, over 1,000 homes were flooded Monday morning. Fort Bend County Judge Robert Hebert has signed a local disaster declaration for Fort Bend County as well.
Emmett says some parts of town have experienced more severe flooding than ever recorded.
At a press conference Monday afternoon, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said that the city is currently concentrating on three particularly hard-hit areas of Houston: Greens Bayou, the Northwest sector, and Braes Bayou. He also said that there are shelters being set up at the Jersey Village Baptist Church, and at the M.O. Campbell Education Center.
According to the Associated Press, Governor Greg Abbott says more than half the state remains under flood warnings and first responders have made more than 1,000 water rescues. Abbott has declared a state disaster declaration for nine counties and says more will likely be added to the list.
A strong storm moved through the Greater Houston area overnight, leading to flooding and street closures. The National Weather Service has issued an Area Flood Warning for Houston until 6:45 p.m.
The storm dropped 7 to 10 inches of rain and up to 18 inches of rainfall in certain areas. There have been 1,200 rescues between the City of Houston and Harris County. Check here for current rainfall totals.
TranStar is reporting flooding on several major roads across Greater Houston. City of Houston officials are asking Houston residents to avoid travel if possible. They urge drivers not to test flood waters or try to drive around barricades, instead to turn around and find an alternative route. There are 48 reports of high water locations from TranStar.
Listen to reports from around Houston
The Greens Bayou came out of its banks; the Houston Fire Department responded to calls for assistance. Some residents were re-located to the second floor of an apartment complex until the necessary assets became available to move them to a shelter. Currently, HFD has 9 high water vehicles assigned to the Greenspoint area. Residents are being taken to the Greenspoint Mall, and boarded onto METRO buses which are taking them to area shelters. The Houston Police Department has dispatched additional officers to the area.
Montgomery County Officials and the Office of Emergency Management warn that even though heavy rains have diminished, runoff and future rain will push some creeks and rivers to major flood stage tonight and tomorrow, threatening residents.
According to Karen D. Othon of TxDOT, Drivers traveling eastbound on US 290 should expect delays and plan for extra travel time because after the amount of heavy rain that came through the area overnight and this morning, a temporary soil wall collapsed between the US 290 eastbound frontage road and mainlanes at Huffmeister. Two outside US 290 eastbound mainlanes remain closed at Huffmeister as a safety precaution.
The offices of the City of Houston, Missouri City, Harris and Fort Bend counties are closed today, with the exception of essential personnel.
The Houston Independent School District has responded to the city’s request to open up Johnston and M.C. Williams middle schools as emergency shelters today to assist residents affected by storms that resulted in heavy flooding throughout the city. Johnston will be used to shelter up to 300 residents from the Meyerland area, while M.C. Williams will be used to assist 300 Acres Homes area residents.
The Salvation Army is coordinating response efforts that will include mobile kitchens from their locations in Pasadena, Conroe and Northwest Houston. Other SA disaster units from around the state are on stand-by and will be deployed as needed.
The ground stop at Houston Bush Airport has been lifted and operations are resuming. IAH is reporting 496 cancellations and 136 delays.
Eastbound Will Clayton (outbound headed from terminals to HWY 59) is closed at Lee Road due to standing water. It may be possible to use JFK South when exiting the airport.
Southwest Airlines has cancelled all domestic departing flights from Hobby airport until 4 p.m . Hobby says there are144 cancellations and 17 delays.
Contact your airline carrier directly if you have a flight on Monday.
Centerpoint is reporting more than 34,227 people without power in its service area as of 3:00 p.m.
Houston Metro has stopped all services, visit Metro’s homepage for more information.
- Royal High School, 2550 Durkin Road in Pattison
Those with flood-related needs are urged to call the American Red Cross at 1-866-526-8300.
Most Houston area creeks are flooding or near flooding. Visit the Harris County Flood District for updates.
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