Texas flooding: Emergency crews rescue stranded residents

HOUSTON — Water levels are expected to keep rising on Friday as severe thunderstorms continue to bring heavy rain to parts of Southeast Texas.

Disaster declarations have already been signed in Harris County and further north in Huntsville. Those went into effect immediately after being issued Thursday. These allow for more resources to be deployed.

“This threat is ongoing and it’s going to get worse. It is not your typical river flood,” Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said Friday.

RELATED: LIVE RADAR: Tracking the next line of thunderstorms moving through the Houston area

The City of Houston opened its joint information center Friday morning. Also, the state is sending extra high-water vehicles to help.

The storms are expected to continue to still have an impact this weekend with more storms in the forecast.

KHOU 11 reporter Matt Dougherty and photojournalist Ryan Phillips rode along with Precinct 4 deputies on a scouting mission in their high-water rescue vehicles, looking for residents needing help. 

They found isolated subdivisions with neighbors whose culdesacs had become islands. 

More than two dozen people were rescued from their flooded homes in Plum Grove on Friday. Plum Grove is about 20 minutes south of Cleveland.

The San Jacinto River Authority said more than 20 inches of rain fell north of Lake Conroe over the last week.

At 204 feet, the lake has reached its third-highest level ever.

SJRA said they have to release water from the lake to get it back to a safe level of 201 feet and preserve the safety and integrity of the dam.

Lake Conroe releases flow into the West Fork of the San Jacinto River. Inflows from the West Fork and East Fork flow into Lake Houston.

There are more than 12 tributaries that contribute to the levels at Lake Houston. The latest reports from the National Weather Service and Harris County Flood Control District predict the peak at Lake Houston Saturday evening.

Lake Livingston reached an all-time high of 133 feet.

Entergy Texas crews are still working to restore power to nearly 8,000 customers impacted by the severe thunderstorms that passed through Southeast Texas Thursday and Friday. As of 4 p.m. Friday, approximately 7,800 customers were without power, down from the peak of approximately 25,100 outages.

Some customers in the hardest-hit areas may experience extended outages.

“Additional resources like high water vehicles, airboats and off-road equipment are being used to safely restore power as quickly as possible,” Entergy said Friday afternoon.

CenterPoint has restored power to more than 96,000 customers. They’re down to about 3,000 customers still without power.

Harris County Commissioner Tom Ramsey said people on the West Fork of the San Jacinto River still have time to evacuate. 

If they wait too long, they will be stranded in their homes for a few days. 

“Now is the time to get off the river and evacuate,” Ramsey said.

Ramsey said first responders from several agencies had already rescued 50 people by 4 p.m. Friday.

Earlier, County Judge Lina Hidalgo said it was too late for people in the mandatory evacuation areas on the East Fork of the river. She said people who stayed were being rescued from rooftops.

The river was already at 74 feet by Friday afternoon and the East Fork is expected to peak at 77 feet by midnight Friday.

The West Fork won’t peak until Saturday.

RELATED: When will the San Jacinto River reach its peak?

Mayor John Whitmire said Kingwood residents in low-lying areas in danger of flooding should evacuate this afternoon.

“Do not wait until it’s too late or you will endanger our first responders,” he said at a 4 p.m. news conference. 

Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said deputies rescued 11 adults and 9 children from Tortuga Circle in Idlewilde, which is in the Huffman area. 

Gonzalez said his deputies had rescued 39 people and 13 animals from flooded neighborhoods as of 3:54 p.m. on Friday.

United Way of Houston said 211 is manned 24 hours a day and seven days a week.

“If you require assistance, please don’t hesitate to call 2-1-1 day or night,” United Way posted on Instagram.

Several area roads still had high water on Friday afternoon, according to Houston TranStar. You can see their full list here. 

Just before 3 p.m. Friday, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said it’s now too late for residents near the San Jacinto River who ignored mandatory evacuation orders to leave. 

“On the San Jacinto River East Fork, it’s too late to evacuate preemptively & folks are being assisted off their rooftops,” Hidalgo posted on X. “If you are on the West Fork or south of Lake Houston you still have an opportunity to leave. Otherwise, prepare to stay in place for 2-3 days.”

The Harris County Clerk’s Office (HCCO) is prepared to conduct the May 4 Uniform and Special Elections on Election Day, Saturday, May 4, in spite of severe weather concerns. 

Although Harris County has received several inches of rainfall over the past few days, no voting locations had been impacted by heavy rain or flooding as of 1 p.m. Friday, May 3.

All 151 voting locations will open as planned from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, Harris Votes said.

HCCO continues to monitor local weather conditions, including the possibility of heavy rain and flooding. The Elections Department staff is in contact with the facilities serving as vote centers to ensure buildings will open, election workers will remain safe and voters will be able to cast their ballot on Election Day.

The Texas Election Code does not provide specific procedures for emergency weather conditions. However, in the event that a voting location is forced to close at any point on Election Day, HCCO will make every effort to advise voters of changes. Information will be shared on www.HarrisVotes.com and social media.

The special election is the race to fill Mayor John Whitmire’s former Senate seat in the Texas Legislature.

Emergency officials expect the San Jacinto River to rise to 78 feet above sea level, which means there will be significant flooding.

“That is just three feet below where it was during (Hurricane) Harvey. So, we will go 78 feet higher than we were the other day, which means even elevated structures will get water. It also means street side structures will have rooftop flooding,” Hidalgo said Thursday in a press conference.

Officials said the river will likely crest this weekend. That is why mandatory evacuations have been issued.

“Even elevated structures will get water. It also means street-side structures will have rooftop flooding. It means the water will be hitting power lines,” Hidalgo said.

These are the neighborhoods included in the evacuation order.

• Idle Glen
• Idle Wild
• Northwood Country Estates
• River Terrace
• Cypress Point
• Commons of Lake Houston

Voluntary evacuation advisories for several other communities around the San Jacinto River. People in the following areas should leave or plan to be stuck for two or three days.

• Kingwood near the west fork of the river
• Forest Cove
• North Shore
• Bellawood
• River Crest
• Rio Villa
• Kingspoint
• Atascocita Shores

Flooding from heavy rains has led to the closure of several major roadways in Southeast Texas. The Texas Department of Transportation in Lufkin closed US 59 from Shepherd to Splendora due to major flooding in the Cleveland area.

Drivers can detour from State Highway 150 to New Waverly to Interstate 45. 

Loop 336 in Conroe is also impassible. FM 2920 around the Grand Parkway in the Tomball area is also closed.

RELATED: List: High water locations across Houston area

In Montgomery County, officials issued a voluntary evacuation order and said roads were closed because of flooding along the river. The area got about 5 to 8 inches of rain within 24 hours, with some spots getting as much as 10 to 12 inches of rain, said National Weather Service meteorologist Hayley Adams.

“We are still having to rescue motorists who ignore barricades or water over roadways and place themselves and first responders in harms way,” Montgomery County Judge Mark Keough said Friday in a Facebook post.

A family in McDade Estates in Conroe sent us photos of water inside their home. McDade Estates is a subdivision along the east side of the San Jac W Fork along FM 2854.

Shelters are now open and available for any residents who need to evacuate because of flooding concerns. Pets are welcome at both locations.

South Montgomery County

East Montgomery County

The storm brought down trees and left vehicles stranded. It prompted the San Jacinto River Authority to close Lake Conroe and increase water releases from the dam that created the reservoir.

The San Jacinto River Authority said Friday morning that with a reduction in inflows into Lake Conroe and reduced rain overnight, dam operators have lowered the release from Lake Conroe to 48,528 CFS. The lake level is currently 204.3 feet. There will continue to monitor rain and runoff in the area throughout the day. 

Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said in a press conference Friday morning she spoke with Polk County Judge Sydney Murphy who told her that more than 700 homes had been flooded. She explained that while people there were prepared to be stuck in their homes for a few days, they were not prepared to be without water.

RELATED: Boil water notice issued for several Lake Livingston communities

Several subdivisions in the Livingston area are without water and under a boil water notice.

These are the communities affected:

• Wild Country
• Eagles Nest
• Beech Creek
• Crystal Lakes
• Country Charm
• Putnams Landing

The city of Huntsville issued a Declaration of Disaster on Thursday morning for severe weather, flooding, damaging winds, down trees, and power outages.

Entergy Texas said recent storms caused significant flooding and damage to some of their transmission lines in the Huntsville area. They added that crews have restored power to 70% of their customers impacted by the storms.

Huntsville ISD canceled classes for both Thursday and Friday. 

Here is their full statement posted Thursday:

“After careful consideration and consultation with local emergency management officials, HISD will continue closure through Friday, May 3. Dangerous road conditions are expected to continue into tomorrow, with more rain likely overnight and many roads outside of town still flooded as of 5:30 PM today. Additionally, our creeks, tributaries and rivers are still rising within our boundaries. While we like to wait as long as possible to make this decision so it can be based on real time information, we also realize the more notice we give families and staff, the better it is for their planning. We fully expect to be back to normal operations by Monday, and any changes or updates will be sent through our mass notification system, posted on the district website (www.huntsville-isd.org) and our official social media pages, and will be communicated to media outlets. Our thoughts and prayers are with those who have suffered loss or damage during this weather event.”

Sam Houston State University in Huntsville and Woodlands Center were closed on Thursday and Friday.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department has seen impacts to multiple sites due to the recent, extended rain and flooding experienced by parts of the state.

TPWD officials said state parks such as Huntsville, Village Creek and Fort Parker have closed. Once floodwaters recede, park areas will remain closed until repairs and cleanup have finished and areas are safe for public use.

Here is a complete list of parks that are closed.