Texas floods: Enough rain fell in May to cover entire state 8 inches deep
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DODGE CITY, KS - MAY 24: A tornado is seen south of Dodge City, Kansas moving north on May 24, 2016 in Dodge City, Kansas. About 30 tornadoes were reported on Tuesday in five different states from Michigan to Texas. Damage to homes and property was also reported in Ford County, Kansas. (Photo by Brian Davidson/Getty Images)
So much rain has fallen this May on flood-ravaged Texas that it could cover the entire state with 8 inches of water, meteorologists say.
Michael Callihan said that even though his family is grieving, “This is a very hard time for everybody here in Houston.”
Over the weekend, a University of Houston student saw an object in Brays Bayou and reported it to campus police, who contacted Houston authorities, according to Houston Police Department Sgt. J.T. Parker. Police found a male body, and a preliminary investigation suggests the death is related to flooding, said Parker.
Elsewhere near Houston, police evacuated residents from 20 homes in the suburb of Rosenberg on Saturday. Residents in at least 14 homes more were deciding whether to leave as the Brazos River threatened to rise, Lt. William Henry said.
Several rivers in Texas were at flood stage at 108 locations, the National Weather Service said Saturday, but on Sunday the rain seemed to have let up in the area, according to the service.
CNN affiliate KPRC reported that some 600 cattle were trapped by high waters in the Trinity River. Cowboys came to their aid, steering the larger cattle to a rail yard, and loading calves onto air boats, KPRC said.
Torrential rains have already given Texas the wettest month on record, according to Texas A&M climatologists. And extreme river and creek flooding has broken many records and swept away hundreds of homes.
In all, 37.3 trillion gallons of water have fallen over the state of Texas in May, the National Weather Service said.
While a period of dry weather was expected Sunday in Texas, showers and thunderstorms hit some areas in the Northeast and Southeast on Sunday. Elsewhere, heavy rain soaked Atlanta Sunday afternoon, flooding some metro areas of the city.
Oklahoma wears hip boots, too
Oklahoma has also broken its monthly rain record, according to reports. Seven people have been confirmed dead in the aftermath of drenching rain there. Flooding also killed people in northern Mexico, bringing the total death toll to at least 43.
Some of the victims died in tornadoes.
And highway patrol troopers shot one man dead on Friday, after receiving a call about a stranded motorist related to high water, authorities said. The two troopers found two men with two vehicles, said Capt. Paul Timmons of the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.
The troopers told the men to come toward them to safer ground out of the high water, Timmons said. But at some point, an altercation broke out, and the troopers fired, killing one of the men.
Late Friday, Obama declared “a major disaster exists in the State of Texas.” He ordered federal aid into the state.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has declared a state of disaster in 70 counties, which allows state resources to be used for storm response.
Barely escaped
The flooding wiped out many homes in San Marcos, which lies between Austin and San Antonio.
Resident Debra Diaz said she is recovering after the floods destroyed everything she owned. “I’m just thankful that I have the boys and my family and friends,” Diaz said.
She was asleep when a friend banged on her door to warn her of the flood. “If it weren’t for her, we would have been stuck in there,” Diaz said. “Water just coming toward us, gushing. I’m talking about water coming to my waist. It was high.”
The family’s car was full of water, so they had to get out on foot. She said the family managed to flag down a school bus, which took them to safety – but just barely.
“The water was already past the tires of the school bus,” she said. “That’s how high it was.”
People canoe through floodwaters in Houston on Saturday, May 30. Torrential rains have given Texas the wettest month on record, according to Texas A&M climatologists. In all, 37.3 trillion gallons of water have fallen over the state in May, the National Weather Service said.
Photos: Texas flooding
David J. Phillip/AP
Floodwaters surround a house near the San Jacinto River in Kingwood on May 30.
Photos: Texas flooding
David J. Philli/AP
A truck is partially submerged in floodwaters near Houston's Bear Creek Park on May 30.
Photos: Texas flooding
Brandon Wade/AP
The Trinity River swells west of downtown Dallas on Friday, May 29.
Photos: Texas flooding
Brandon Wade/AP
Lake Lewisville floods a park in The Colony on May 29.
Photos: Texas flooding
Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman/AP
From left, Cara Hewitt, Linda Balas, Kathy Bullard and Doreen Crow gather in Wimberley on Thursday, May 28. They are looking at the spot where eight friends from Corpus Christi were swept away in a flood.
Photos: Texas flooding
Rodolfo Gonzalez/Austin American-Statesman/AP
Butch Neuenschwander, right, looks for things to salvage from his RV, which was flooded in San Marcos, Texas, on Wednesday, May 27.
Photos: Texas flooding
Brandon Wade/AP
Workers in Midlothian, Texas, try to relieve pressure from the dam at Padera Lake on May 27.
Photos: Texas flooding
Elaine Thompson/AP
On Tuesday, May 26, a Wimberley man walks past a cabin that was torn from its foundation days earlier.
Photos: Texas flooding
Marie D. De Jesus/Houston Chronicle/AP
Roberto Salas, left, and Lewis Sternhagen check on a flooded car in Houston on May 26.
Photos: Texas flooding
Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman/TNS/Landov
Members of the Texas National Guard search for bodies on the banks of the Blanco River after flooding in Wimberley on May 26.
Photos: Texas flooding
Aaron M. Sprecher/AFP/Getty Images
Vehicles in Houston are stranded on Interstate 45 on May 26.
Photos: Texas flooding
Drew Anthony Smith/Getty Images
Clothes and other relief supplies are gathered at Wimberley High School on May 26.
Photos: Texas flooding
David J. Phillip/AP
Nayeli Cervantes carries her friend's daughter through the floodwaters outside their Houston apartment on May 26.
Photos: Texas flooding
Rodolfo Gonzalez/Austin American-Statesman/AP
The cement stilts of a family's home in Wimberley are all that remain on Monday, May 25. The home was swept away by floodwaters a day earlier.
Photos: Texas flooding
Drew Anthony Smith/Getty Images
Lucas Rivas looks into a flooded store in Austin, Texas, on May 25.
Photos: Texas flooding
Alberto Martinez/Austin American-Statesman via AP
Rescue personnel grab the the hand of a man who was stranded in rushing water in Austin on May 25.
Photos: Texas flooding
Rodolfo Gonzalez/Austin American-Statesman/AP
Janie Bell helps her neighbors in Wimberley search for possessions after their vacation home was destroyed in a flash flood on May 25.
Photos: Texas flooding
Rodolfo Gonzalez/Austin American-Statesman/AP
A shopping center is submerged in water in San Marcos on Sunday, May 24.
Photos: Texas flooding
Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman/AP
The Fischer Store Road Bridge near Wimberley was destroyed in flooding on May 24.
Photos: Texas flooding
Erika Rich/Austin American-Statesman/AP
Heather Williams and Jayden Martinez Corpus assist the Villegas family in clearing flood-damaged furniture from their home in San Marcos on May 24.
Photos: Texas flooding
Erika Rich/Austin American-Statesman/AP
David Barry consoles his 5-year-old daughter, Marley, while she tries to sleep in a flood evacuee room created at the San Marcos Activity Center on May 24.
Photos: Texas flooding
Rodolfo Gonzalez/Austin American-Statesman/AP
The remains of a home that was taken off its foundation are seen along the Blanco River in Wimberley on May 24.
Photos: Texas flooding
Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman/AP
A large tree rests on the Highway 12 bridge over the Blanco River in Wimberley on May 24.
Photos: Texas flooding
Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman/AP
Retha Norris, Ally Smith and Christina Norris, all seated in the canoe, are rescued by firefighters on May 24 after they clung to a tree in Kyle, Texas.
CNN’s Carma Hassan and Melissa Gray contributed to this report.
