Floods inundate central Texas region
SAN ANTONIO (AP) – Torrential rain drenched central Texas for a fourth straight day Tuesday, flooding people out of their homes and blocking highways, less than a week after water restrictions were imposed because of a drought. Gov. Rick Perry activated the Texas National Guard to assist.
Flooding was blamed for at least one death. Teams used rafts, personal watercraft and helicopters to rescue people from stranded vehicles and flooded homes.
“We’re just kind of stuck here in town,” Bandera Mayor Denise Griffin said Tuesday. “All of the roads out of Bandera are basically closed.”
Bandera, about 40 miles west of San Antonio, had to evacuate three recreational vehicle parks, a motel and the lower part of town, Griffin said. She estimated that 50 to 100 people had been evacuated.
No serious injuries were reported.
More than 9 inches of rain was recorded Monday at San Antonio International Airport, where both inbound and outbound flights were delayed, the National Weather Service said.
Storms will continue until at least Wednesday and possible into the Fourth of July, said weather service meteorologist Larry Eblen.
One man drowned Sunday in Austin when he fell into a swollen creek. An 11-year-old boy was in critical condition after rescued from a San Antonio creek, where he fell in after losing his footing on a bank.
About 70 roads in Hays County were closed by high water.
“Everything is flooded that can be flooded,” said Hays County Sheriff’s Sgt. Allen Bridges. “There is no way to get east or west or north or south in the country right now.”
The governor said two National Guard helicopters were sent to help travelers who were stranded by high water on Interstate 10 on Tuesday. Twenty National Guard personnel and 10 large trucks were sent to San Antonio to assist with rescues and evacuations.
Texas Parks and Wildlife officials evacuated campers from low-lying areas near Boerne.
Flooding of the Frio and Nueces rivers and their tributaries closed a 15-mile stretch of Interstate 35 from Cotulla to Dilley in Frio County for more than 10 hours Monday.
“The county is shut down. We’ve had cars swept off the road and people stuck in houses,” Frio County chief deputy Rodney Lucio said.
Farther south, LaSalle County also had high water.
“I guess this is our 100-year flood. … I’m flooded all over the county. Every crossing I have is flooded,” said LaSalle County Sheriff Jerry Patterson. The Border Patrol office in Laredo sent watercraft to aid with rescue efforts.
The heavy rainfall had boosted the area’s Edwards Aquifer by more than 25 feet Monday. Last week, the aquifer’s decline had triggered mandatory water use restrictions in San Antonio.