Evacuations ordered as Texas' flooded Brazos River tops record
By Jim Forsyth SAN ANTONIO (Reuters) - Record flooding along the swollen Brazos River in Texas on Tuesday prompted mandatory evacuations after at least six people died in the worst floods in more than 100 years. Forecasters predicted more rain as the Brazos rose to levels not seen since 1913 after heavy rainfall late last week. The National Weather Service reported the Brazos hitting 54.16 feet at Richmond, Texas, late on Tuesday, almost 4 feet above the flood record set in 1994. “This level of water in the river has not been seen in many of our lifetimes and we urge residents to heed these warnings,” Jeff Braun, director of the emergency management office in Fort Bend County, said on the agency's website. About 120 water rescues have been carried out in Fort Bend County, southwest of Houston. Evacuations have been ordered in several county areas, the website said. A storm system dumped up to 22 inches of rain in just a few hours, killed at least six people last week, local authorities said. In Simonton, in Fort Bend County, officials provided transportation to help residents leave their homes as well as security to prevent looting. The American Red Cross opened more shelters in the Houston area. The National Weather Service forecast more rain for the Houston region through Sunday as a slow-moving storm system approached from the west. Several rivers in southeast and eastern Texas were in "major flood stage." While relatively rare, forecasters have seen a number of such events in Texas over the past year, said National Weather Service meteorologist Patrick Burke. More than 20 inches of rain have fallen over some parts of southeast Texas during the last month, 8 to 10 inches above normal, Burke said. (Additional reporting and writing by Suzannah Gonzales and Ian Simpson; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Jeffrey Benkoe)
