Powerful rainstorms slammed South Texas on Tuesday, flooding highways and leaving motorists stranded as weather forecasters cautioned that additional rounds of severe weather could trigger dangerous flooding in already waterlogged counties along the Mexican border.
Some rural parts of Texas received up to 12 inches of rain, sparking dozens of high-water rescues throughout the region. Officials were forced to close sections of a heavily traveled highway near Uvalde — located roughly 80 miles west of San Antonio — for several hours. A flood watch was also extended to Kerr County, the same area where devastating flooding along the Guadalupe River claimed more than 100 lives last year.
As of Tuesday, no fatalities or injuries had been reported.
The National Weather Service cautioned that overnight storms could drop an additional foot or more of rain in certain locations through Wednesday, raising the risk of catastrophic flash flooding west of San Antonio. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott declared a disaster in dozens of counties in response to the threat.
“Intense rain rates and compounding effects from multiple rounds of storms will result in a dangerous flash flooding threat through Thursday,” the National Weather Service stated.
Rescue teams were captured on video navigating flooded streets by boat, and footage showed at least one vehicle being carried away by rapidly moving floodwaters. According to Maggie Berger, a spokesperson for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, five people were pulled to safety by the Texas Game Warden Search and Rescue Team, while a local game warden rescued four additional individuals.
In Uvalde, local officials reported at least two dozen water rescues had taken place. A local event center was opened to provide shelter for residents displaced by the flooding.
