2 people swept away by Texas floodwaters
AUSTIN, Texas -- Emergency crews in the Austin area made numerous high-water rescues amid torrential rain late Thursday and early Friday.
In Washington County, the Brenham Fire Department told CBS Houston affiliate KHOU-TV that one person died in the severe weather. The victim was reportedly in a trailer home that was flooded as storms stalled over the area overnight.
A helicopter and other crews were searching for two people who were swept away by floodwaters in the Austin area, Travis County Fire Chief Ken Bailey told CBS Austin affiliate KEYE-TV. The people were on top of a car and rescue crews were preparing to go to them when the water swept them away, Bailey said.
A boat was requested to assist a woman in labor in Travis County, but ground teams were able to get her through the flooding, KEYE says. Residents of one neighborhood there were urged to head for higher ground.
Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services tweeted Thursday night that it had responded to multiple scenes to assist people trapped by rising water. There were no immediate reports of injuries.
The National Weather Service said just after 11 p.m. that emergency managers reported low-water crossings closed in Hays and Travis counties. Over six inches of rain had been observed at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport.
The Office of Emergency Management in Bastrop County, east of Austin, urged residents to stay off the roads, saying some were covered with several feet of water.
Much of the state from Dallas to San Antonio to Houston was under some type of severe weather advisory.
In Houston Thursday night, Good Samaritans helped rescue a woman stuck in a van trapped in high water, KHOU-TV reports.