Over 600 rescued from flooded areas in Texas

MORE than 600 people have been rescued from flooded areas around Houston, the fourth largest US city, as a flood watch continues through Sunday afternoon in eastern Texas.

More rainfall was forecast, raising the risk of major flooding.

“The next round of heavy rainfall is expected late (Saturday) into Sunday,” the National Weather Service posted on social media, Xinhua news agency reported.

More than 21 inches (53 cm) of rain fell in the past five days near Splendora, about 30 miles (50 km) northeast of Houston, said the service.

Lina Hidalgo, judge of Harris County, said at a news conference on Saturday that nearly 180 people and 122 pets had been rescued from murky water across multiple areas in the county.

Local media reported more than 100 water rescues in Polk County and nearly 400 in Montgomery County. All three counties are in or around the Houston metro area.

The water rose nearly as high as the power lines close to the East Fork of the San Jacinto. Other areas had water up to rooftops, the Houston Chronicle reported on Saturday. Hidalgo described the flooding along the East Fork as the “worst one since Harvey.”

Hidalgo on Thursday ordered a mandatory evacuation of the Houston areas along the east fork of the San Jacinto River, asking residents to leave their homes as soon as possible.

Houston city officials said on Saturday that the area received about four months’ worth of rain in about one week. No deaths or injuries have been reported.