As storms moves across Texas, a child dies after being swept away in floodwaters

By JAMIE STENGLE and LEKAN OYEKANMI (Associated Press)

HOUSTON (AP) — Storms in Texas brought additional rain Sunday to the already saturated Houston area, where hundreds of people have been rescued from flooded homes and roads. To the north in the Fort Worth area, a child died after being swept away when the car he was in got stuck in floodwaters.

Over the last week, areas near Lake Livingston, northeast of Houston, have gotten upward of 20 inches of rain, said National Weather Service meteorologist Hayley Adams. Meanwhile, she said, as much as 12 inches of rain has fallen in northeastern Harris County, which includes Houston.

Adams said the storms coming through Sunday were expected to bring up to an additional 3 inches of rainfall, with up to 8 inches possible in some areas before tapering off in the evening.

“It’s going to be raining through the day and some of the storms could be producing the heavier downpours,” Adams said.

CHILD DIES IN FLOODWATERS

In Johnson County, south of Fort Worth, a 5-year-old boy died when he was swept away after the vehicle he was riding in became stuck in swift-moving water near the community of Lillian just before 2 a.m. Sunday, an official said.

The child and two adults were trying to get to dry ground when they were swept away, Jamie Moore, the Johnson County Emergency Management director, wrote in a Facebook post.

The two adults were rescued around 5 a.m. and taken to a hospital, while the child was found dead around 7:20 a.m. in the water, Moore said.

Storms brought as 9 inches of rain in a span of six to eight hours in some areas from central Texas to Dallas-Fort Worth overnight, said National Weather Service meteorologist Matt Stalley. Stalley said the rains washed out some roads west of Waco.

HOUSTON-AREA RIVER LEVELS

Over the last few days, storms have forced numerous high-water rescues in the Houston area, including some from the rooftops of flooded homes.

Jeff Lindner, a meteorologist with the Harris County Flood Control District, said Sunday afternoon that “things are improving slowly.”

“We have water going down on our river systems,” said Lindner. The San Jacinto River crested on Saturday, with its east and west forks and main stem below Lake Houston falling from 1 foot to 3 feet overnight. he said.

Lindner said that so far, Sunday’s additional rain did not seem to be causing any new flooding. He urged people to still be cautious, noting that many areas are still flooded.

“We really need everybody to give it just another day before we feel comfortable that conditions are safe,” Lindner said.

Greg Moss, 68, was staying put in his recreational vehicle on Sunday after leaving his home in the community of Channelview in eastern Harris County near the San Jacinto River. On Saturday, he packed up many of his belongings and left before the road to his home flooded.

“I would be stuck for four days,” Moss said. “So now at least I can go get something to eat.”

Moss moved his belongings and vehicle to a neighbor’s home, where planned to stay until the waters recede. He said Sunday that the floodwaters had already gone down by a couple of feet and that he wasn’t worried his home would flood because it’s located on higher ground.

“It’ll be OK to go in there in the morning,” he said.

HOUSTON PRONE TO FLOODING

Houston is one of the most flood-prone metro areas in the country. The city of more than 2 million people has long experience dealing with devastating weather.

The Houston area’s system of bayous and reservoirs was built to drain heavy rains, but the engineering initially designed nearly 100 years ago has struggled to keep up with the city’s growth and bigger storms.

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Stengle contributed to this report from Dallas. Associated Press reporter Juan A. Lozano also contributed to this report.

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