Texas storms death toll rises to 16, sets rain record
By JON HERSKOVITZ REUTERS
Flood waters cover cars at the Meyergrove Apartment complex in Houston, Texas May 26, 2015. Torrential rains have killed at least eight people in Texas and Oklahoma, including two in Houston where flooding turned streets into rivers and led to nearly 1,000 calls for help in the fourth-most populous U.S. city, officials said on Tuesday. (REUTERS/Daniel Kramer)
Rescue personnel search the floodwaters along Brays Bayou in southwest Houston, Texas May 26, 2015. (REUTERS/Daniel Kramer)
Burns Cleland (L) and Robert Wells (R) survey the flood damage done to the area surrounding the Blanco River in Wimberley, Texas May 26, 2015. (REUTERS/Tamir Kalifa)
Wilber Gonzales uses a chainsaw to cut fallen tree trunks into small pieces along the banks of the Blanco River in Wimberley, Texas May 26, 2015. (REUTERS/Tamir Kalifa)
Michael Fisher strips drywall from his mother-in-law’s flood damaged home in Wimberley, Texas May 26, 2015. (REUTERS/Tamir Kalifa)
Amy Gilmour, a volunteer from San Antonio, Texas, walks past a pile of debris, which included parts of destroyed homes, that amassed when the Blanco River flooded during the Memorial Day weekend rains in Wimberley, Texas May 26, 2015. (REUTERS/Tamir Kalifa)
Flood waters cover the intersection of Braeswood Blvd and the I-610 frontage road in Houston, Texas May 26, 2015. Torrential rains have killed at least eight people in Texas and Oklahoma, including two in Houston where flooding turned streets into rivers and led to nearly 1,000 calls for help in the fourth-most populous U.S. city, officials said on Tuesday. (REUTERS/Daniel Kramer)
An emergency personnel scans the flood waters of Brays Bayou in Houston, Texas May 26, 2015. Torrential rains have killed at least eight people in Texas and Oklahoma, including two in Houston where flooding turned streets into rivers and led to nearly 1,000 calls for help in the fourth-most populous U.S. city, officials said on Tuesday. (REUTERS/Daniel Kramer)
Cars and houses are seen covered by floodwaters in southwest Houston, Texas May 26, 2015. Torrential rains have killed at least eight people in Texas and Oklahoma, including two in Houston where flooding turned streets into rivers and led to nearly 1,000 calls for help in the fourth-most populous U.S. city, officials said on Tuesday. (REUTERS/Daniel Kramer)
A rescue worker scans a flooded area in south Houston, Texas May 26, 2015. Torrential rains have killed at least eight people in Texas and Oklahoma, including two in Houston where flooding turned streets into rivers and led to nearly 1,000 calls for help in the fourth-most populous U.S. city, officials said on Tuesday. (REUTERS/Daniel Kramer)
Flood waters cover several cars on the South I-610 frontage road in Houston, Texas May 26, 2015. Torrential rains have killed at least eight people in Texas and Oklahoma, including two in Houston where flooding turned streets into rivers and led to nearly 1,000 calls for help in the fourth-most populous U.S. city, officials said on Tuesday. (REUTERS/Daniel Kramer)
Mark Norris, walking in black t-shirt, Retha Norris, Ally Smith, 4, and Christina Norris (L to R), are rescued by firefighters after clinging to a tree at their home during flooding, in Kyle, Texas, United States May 24, 2015. (REUTERS/Jay Janner/American-Statesman)
A cabin is destroyed on the banks of the Blanco River after flooding in Wimberley, Texas, United States May 24, 2015. (REUTERS/Jay Janner/American-Statesman)
San Marcos Firefighter Jay Horton (R) rescues a woman from in flood waters in San Marcos, Texas May 24, 2015. Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Monday likened the ferocity of flash flooding that killed at least three people to a tsunami, and authorities said a dam had given way in a state park. Picture taken on May 24, 2015. (REUTERS/Don Anders/Anders Photography/Handout)
A kayaker rows through the flood waters above Sewell Park on the Texas State University campus near the headwaters of the San Marcos River in San Marcos, Texas May 24, 2015. Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Monday likened the ferocity of flash flooding that killed at least three people to a tsunami, and authorities said a dam had given way in a state park. Picture taken on May 24, 2015. (REUTERS/Don Anders/Anders Photography/Handout)
Department of Public Safety Trooper Marcus Gonzales walks on the Highway 12 bridge over the Blanco River which was blocked by large trees after flooding in Wimberly, Texas, United States May 24, 2015. (REUTERS/Jay Janner/American-Statesman)
An American flag, a remnant of Memorial Day holiday one day earlier, waves despite being caught in a tree, while Martin Bali, a resident of Austin, Texas, cleans his shoes after visiting a friend at his flood damaged home in San Marcos, Texas May 26, 2015. Torrential rains have killed at least 10 people in Texas and Oklahoma, including three in Houston where floods turned streets into rivers and led to about 1,000 calls for help in the fourth-most populous U.S. city, officials said on Tuesday. (REUTERS/Tamir Kalifa)
Gay Sullivan surveys the flood damage done to her living room in Wimberley, Texas May 26, 2015. Torrential rains have killed at least 10 people in Texas and Oklahoma, including three in Houston where floods turned streets into rivers and led to about 1,000 calls for help in the fourth-most populous U.S. city, officials said on Tuesday. (REUTERS/Tamir Kalifa)
Volunteers from Austin, Texas take a break from cleaning and speak with Michael J. Sullivan (R), whose home was decimated by the Memorial Day weekend floods in Wimberley, Texas May 26, 2015. Torrential rains have killed at least 10 people in Texas and Oklahoma, including three in Houston where floods turned streets into rivers and led to about 1,000 calls for help in the fourth-most populous U.S. city, officials said on Tuesday. (REUTERS/Tamir Kalifa)
Flood waters cover cars at the Meyergrove Apartment complex in Houston, Texas May 26, 2015. (REUTERS/Daniel Kramer)
Amy Gilmour describes how the Blanco River crested at a record 43 feet during the Memorial Day weekend floods while helping pick up debris from the backyards of flood damaged homes in Wimberley, Texas May 26, 2015. (REUTERS/Tamir Kalifa)
AUSTIN, Texas — Texas prepared for more flooding on Thursday while still reeling from torrential rains that killed at least 16 people, inundated major cities and set a record for the wettest month in the state’s history.
The National Weather Service issued a flash flood watch on Thursday morning stretching from south of San Antonio to Dallas, through Oklahoma, where severe weather this week killed an additional six people, and into Kansas. Thunderstorms pelted large parts of the affected region early on Thursday.
The city of Wharton, about 60 miles southwest of Houston, issued a voluntary evacuation notice for areas along the Colorado River likely to be hit by floods.
Hundreds were asked to leave their homes in areas along the Brazos River about 30 miles west of Fort Worth on Wednesday night as the waterway spilled its banks.
State climatologist John Nielsen-Gammon said on Thursday the average rainfall across the state was 7.54 inches in May, breaking the record of 6.66 inches set in June 2004, according to records that date to 1895.
“It has been ridiculous,” Nielsen-Gammon said.
The body of a boy was recovered on Wednesday near the central city of San Marcos, Hays County officials said. The boy, who has not been identified, was thought to have been swept away in Blanco River floods that ripped houses off their foundations, county officials said.
Rescue workers and volunteers have been searching for days for about 10 other people reported missing since Monday, most of whom were last seen along the Blanco River.
At least six people were killed by the severe weather in Houston, the nation’s fourth largest city, where flooding turned streets into rivers and left more than a thousand vehicles submerged at one point in rushing waters.
There was no damage estimate available for Texas, which has a $1.4 trillion-a-year economy and is the country’s main domestic source of energy as a well as an agricultural and manufacturing power.
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