At Least 5 Dead in Severe Texas Flooding

Intense rain hit areas around Austin, San Antonio, and Houston
By Michael Harthorne,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 31, 2015 3:46 PM CDT
At Least 5 Dead in Severe Texas Flooding
Mike Stoner gets out of his flooded car on Friday in San Marcos, Texas. A fast-moving storm packing heavy rain and destructive winds overwhelmed rivers and prompted evacuations.   (Rodolfo Gonzalez/Austin American-Statesman via AP)

At least five people are dead after intense flooding Friday and Saturday in Texas, the AP reports. Heavy rain started in the Austin and San Antonio areas Friday before hitting Houston with up to 8 inches early Saturday. Two bodies were found in the Houston area, one in a flooded ditch and another in a wooded area where there had been water. According to the Houston Chronicle, the fire department performed more than 130 water rescues in the first half of Saturday alone. Approximately 47,000 people in the Houston area were without power Saturday morning and more than 40 structures had been reported flooded by the afternoon.

The AP reports two bodies were found in the Austin and San Antonio areas after flooding Friday. One of those— the body of a woman washed away from her home—was found two miles away, according to KXAN. A body found Saturday in Travis County belonged to a man who was trying to drive across a flooded bridge after work when his car was washed away. But it wasn't just flooding doing damage this weekend. The AP reports tornadoes touched down in at least two Houston suburbs, damaging several dozen houses and trailer homes. One resident tells the AP "it could have been very bad" had his family been home when a tornado took the roof off his house. Kids and parents in the Houston area are advised to watch out for continued flooding while trick-or-treating Saturday night. (More severe weather stories.)

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