UVALDE, Texas — More heavy rains in storm-weary Texas sent first responders rushing to people trapped in high waters Friday, widening the danger caused by floods that have killed at least two people and left hundreds more in need of rescue.
A relentless week of punishing downpours in Texas – dumping more than 2 feet (60 centimeters) in some areas – was expected to begin tapering off Friday. But another round of showers worsened already swollen rivers and flooded rural communities near the border with Mexico that had largely been spared major damage.
Near Ozona, a small town about 200 miles (322 kilometers) west of San Antonio, floodwaters spilled over Interstate 10. A section of a bridge also collapsed over the Nueces River in Uvalde County, where months worth of rain has fallen in a span of days.
Emergency personnel across a wide swath of southern and central Texas have rescued more than 200 people, including stranded drivers and people trapped in homes, Gov. Greg Abbott said. In the Texas Hill Country, residents were begin cleaning up after floodwaters again barrelled down the Guadalupe River and through communities still reeling from deadly floods a year ago.
“The water’s up to the top of the banks,” Sutton County Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Jon Gann said. “If we get any more, we’re going to be into homes.”
The Texas Department of Transportation said high waters closed a 50-mile stretch of U.S. Highway 57 and that parts of the roadway were not expected to reopen until Monday.
In all, the downpours put roughly 6 million residents across Texas under a flood watch at various points this week.
Residents in hard-hit Uvalde return to flooded homes
In Uvalde, one of the hardest-hit cities from flooding, waters were receding and officials said a major highway, Route 90, had reopened after floodwaters had overrun the city and cut off most outside routes.
Sandra Gomez was assessing the damage at her Uvalde home on Friday after having left it before the flooding. She said about 6 inches (15 centimeters) of water got inside and left mud throughout the house, where she’s lived since last year. She said she was luckier than other people she knows whose homes were under 5 or 6 feet (1.5 to 1.8 meters) of water.
“Well, really it’s very, very emotional,” she said. “Material things I can replace. It may take a while, but I can replace those but I cannot replace my family. So, my family’s safe and that’s all that really matters.”
One person who died was driving on a flooded road and was swept away near Uvalde, authorities said.
Another victim, 65-year-old John Mark Steward of Kerrville, died after his mobile home was swept into Goat Creek on the Guadalupe River, his wife said. The river is the same one wrecked by flash floods last year when two dozen children and counselors died at Camp Mystic. Authorities on Thursday said summer campers were safe.
Nearly 1 trillion gallons of rainfall
Authorities in Crockett County evacuated more than 50 people Friday morning from apartments and an RV park in the southern part of the county seat of Ozona, using seven rescue boat teams,. They were taken to the local civic center for shelter.
He said the area received 6 inches of rain after midnight, on top of nearly 10 inches of rain before that.
“We have more and more accidents on the interstate,” he said. “We have more and more water pouring into the neighborhoods where we’ve been pulling people out of.”
The scenes were similar to recues that have played out in Texas counties this week.
Nearly 1 trillion gallons of water fell on the three hardest-hit counties over three days – Uvalde County alone got more rain in that period than California has seen over the last month, according to Ryan Maue, former chief scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association.
The Hill Country is especially prone to flash floods because the area’s signature limestone is covered by just a thin layer of soil. During heavy rains, water can quickly shoot downhill before filling the narrow river basins.
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Collins reported from Hartford, Connecticut. Associated Press reporter Michael Phillis in Washington contributed to this report.
