Stay off the roads: Houston mayor on Imelda

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner on Thursday told residents to heed emergency warnings as Tropical Depression Imelda bears down, promising rainfall that could bring 'catastrophic' flooding to Southeast Texas.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) HOUSTON MAYOR SYLVESTER TURNER SAYING:

"We want to encourage people over the next several hours if you do not have to drive, please do not drive... Last night, we got a lot of water coming in a short period of time. Five to six inches of rain in like an hour or so. What we're anticipating now, at least based on what we were told, we could be looking at four to five inches over two to three hours."

Flooding in northeast Houston already forced the evacuation of a small number of residents.

The George Bush Intercontinental Airport tweeted that it was under a "full ground stop" and the National Weather Service issued a "flash flood emergency" warning through the evening.

Forecasters say or about 3 feet could fall in some coastal areas, and over 37,000 people have lost power so far.