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New this morning: Record flooding inundates Houston

Central Texas is beginning to pick up the pieces after record flooding over the past 48 hours. But new this morning, Southeast Texas is under water. Houston, th...
flood

Central Texas is beginning to pick up the pieces after record flooding over the past 48 hours. But new this morning, Southeast Texas is under water. Houston, the nation’s fourth largest city has been inundated by high water. KTRK-TV reports that some bayous are two feet higher than record levels this morning after 10-12 inches of rain fell Monday night into Tuesday morning. Flash Flood Warnings are in effect for more than 5 million people. A “Flood Emergency” is in place for Houston and Harris County.

For a time early this morning, all freeways and tollways had some sort of closure due to high water. One eyewitness told a reporter on the scene that the traffic came to a stop and people got out of their cars, running back where they came from. The water rose so quickly that the tops of cars were under water in just a few minutes. Hardest hit is the “Southwest Freeway,” where dozens of cars were stranded as the water rose too quickly for cars to move to higher ground.

This is the worst flooding since 2001 when Tropical Storm Allison dumped 35 inches of rain in the Houston area. That storm damaged or destroyed over 2,000 homes left 30,000 people homeless and was the costliest tropical storm on record. WQAD Meteorologist Eric Sorensen says this flooding is caused by a slow-moving storm system across Texas. “Unfortunately, this type of weather pattern is typical with El Niño which is in the process of strengthening. Some parts of the Deep South could continue in a wet pattern for a few weeks.”

Below are scenes from the ABC affiliate, KTRK-TV. You can watch their coverage here.

New this morning: Record flooding inundates Houston
New this morning: Record flooding inundates Houston

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