Heavy rain, rising rivers pose dual threat to Southeast Texas Friday as flooding warnings persists

Sign up for The Brief, The Texas Tribune’s daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news.

HOUSTON — Heavy rains and rising rivers continued to endanger much of Southeast Texas Friday.

Thousands of Texans were already displaced or under evacuation orders in places such as Polk, Montgomery and Harris counties. Others were without electricity. Schools and businesses were closed as roads and highways — especially in rural East Texas — were impassable. Emergency officials were comparing the amount of water inundating this region to levels seen during Hurricane Harvey, a Category 4 hurricane that made landfall in Texas in 2017.

No fatalities were reported as of late Thursday.

Forecasters expected to see more rainfall on Friday after at least a week of off-and-on rain.

Numerous Southeast Texas counties remained under a Flood Watch — meaning flooding was possible — through Friday evening. At best, the rainfall would slow exiting floodwater, the weather service said. At worst, it would cause more flooding.

The Trinity River and the East and West Forks of the San Jacinto River were also dangerously on the rise and would be for at least a day more as the accumulating rainfall drained toward the Gulf.

“We’re really dealing with both right now,” said Sean Luchs, a National Weather Service meteorologist in the Houston/Galveston office. “We’re getting both these events of heavy rain that in the short term cause flash flooding and are also contributing water in that runoff to cause rises in the rivers and we get that river flooding as well.”

Harris County Flood Control District Meteorologist Jeff Lindner expected ground-level homes along the East Fork of the San Jacinto River to be flooded to the rooftop. He also predicted flooding in areas along the West Fork of the river.

The Trinity River was meanwhile causing major problems in Polk and Liberty Counties.

“We’re looking at significant flooding on the rivers,” Lindner said. “This is significantly more serious than what we were dealing with earlier this week.”

This is a developing story and will be updated.

We’ve got big things in store for you at The Texas Tribune Festival, happening Sept. 5–7 in downtown Austin. Join us for three days of big, bold conversations about politics, public policy and the day’s news.