Police and emergency responders in Texas conducted a daring rescue operation amid severe flooding in Harris County on Friday, saving 196 individuals and 108 animals, as reported by local news outlets.
The flooding, triggered by heavy rainfall, forced thousands of Texas residents to evacuate their homes on Thursday night.
The situation turned life-threatening as storm conditions worsened, with heavy storms relentlessly pounding the Houston area, exacerbating the already dangerous flooding. Numerous high-water rescues, including from the rooftops of flooded homes, were carried out.
Officials issued urgent evacuation instructions for residents in low-lying areas, cautioning that the situation was expected to deteriorate further. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo emphasized the severity of the threat, describing the surge of water as "catastrophic" and warning that several hundred structures were at risk of flooding.
The flooding also led to the cancellation of classes in schools along with the closure of highways submerged in water. The National Weather Service issued a flood warning until Tuesday for the region, as more than 11 inches of rain fell in a 24-hour period in the northern Houston suburb of Spring.
High-water rescues were conducted in Montgomery County, where Judge Mark Keough estimated that there were more rescues than could be counted. In Polk County, over 100 water rescues were carried out, with homes below Lake Livingston Dam and along the Trinity River being flooded.
Despite the challenging conditions, no deaths or injuries were reported in Houston. The city, well-accustomed to flood risks, activated shelters across the region, including nine by the American Red Cross, as the San Jacinto River in Harris County was expected to continue rising.
In Conroe, just north of Houston, rescuers used boats to navigate through flooded neighborhoods, rescuing people and pets from their homes. Similar scenes unfolded in Livingston, where water levels rose significantly.
The relentless storms in southeast Texas and parts of Louisiana over the past month have caused widespread flooding, with some areas receiving more than two feet of rain, according to the National Weather Service.