MAY 26, 2015
HOUSTON, TEXAS
Numerous people were missing in Texas after the storms slammed the states during the Memorial Day weekend, causing floods and tornadoes that destroyed hundreds of homes and swept away bridges.
"There are still some significant areas of really devastating flooding in Houston," Mayor Annise Parker said at a news conference, adding she has asked the governor to declare the city a disaster area.
She said most of Houston is high and dry but advised people to stay home. More than 1,000 vehicles were submerged in floods and people took instead to bicycles, kayak and surfboards to navigate water-covered streets.
President Barack Obama said on Tuesday he had assured Texas Governor Greg Abbott that he could count on help from the federal government as the state recovers from the floods. Abbott has declared a state of disaster in 24 Texas counties.
Abbott said he has deployed the state's National Guard and was worried the death toll could rise.
"We still have countless people who are missing," he told cable news station CNN.
There was no damage estimate available for the state, which has a $1.4 trillion-a-year economy and is the country's main domestic source of energy as well as an agricultural and manufacturing power.
Houston resident owner Bob Hust waited out the flood waters on the second floor of his home after a nearby bayou overran its banks.
"You could hear water from all corners of the house coming in ... we had no option," he told local broadcaster KTRK.
More bad weather was expected with the National Weather Service issuing a flash flood warning on Tuesday for Houston as a line of thunderstorms moved along the Gulf of Mexico coast toward Florida. It said there was a high chance of more rain and thunderstorms for Texas this week.
Rescue workers have been looking for 12 members of two families missing after their vacation home was swept off its foundation in Wimberley, a town about 30 miles (48 km) southwest of Austin, where flood waters caused a wave of destruction.
One of those killed was an 18-year-old girl whose car was swept away by flood waters as she returned home from her high school prom, said police in Devine, Texas, south of San Antonio, said.
More than 100 flights had been canceled as of 1 p.m. CDT (2 p.m. EDT/1800 GMT) at airports in Houston and Dallas, some of the nation's busiest, as blocked roads made it difficult for workers to get to their jobs. A sinkhole also closed a runway at the Dallas/Fort Worth International airport.
About 100,000 customers were without power throughout the state on Tuesday morning due to high winds and rising waters that caused power poles to snap.
About 11 inches (28 cm) of rainwater fell in Houston on Monday while parts of Austin were hit by as much as 7 inches (18 cm).
Helicopter crews in both cities pluck people to safety who had been stranded in cars and on top of buildings.
(Writing by Jon Herskovitz; Additional reporting by Terry Wade and Amanda Orr in Houston, Jim Forsyth in San Antonio, Lisa Maria Garza in Dallas, Suzannah Gonzales in Chicago and Scott DiSavino in New York; Editing by Bill Trott and Sandra Maler)