Texas Floods As Mexico Recovers From Hurricane
Texas has been left wet - but not destroyed - as the remnants of Hurricane Patricia fade after storming through part of Mexico.
Sunday 25 October 2015 02:01, UK
Texas has seen heavy rain - but no deaths or injuries yet - as it deals with two storms as Mexico begins to assess the damage and recover from Hurricane Patricia.
A freight train was derailed as two strong storm systems, one the remnants of the hurricane, pounded the US state on Saturday.
It comes after Patricia, which was at one point the strongest ever storm recorded in the Western Hemisphere, caused less damage than feared in Mexico.
Thousands fled in advance of it making landfall on the country's western coast, but it appears major damage has been avoided as the storm missed tourist centres like Puerto Vallarta and the cargo port of Manzanillo.
However, it did carve through small rural villages, ripping corrugated metal roofing off modest brick homes and uprooting trees, with the forceful winds sucking the leaves off them.
As the clean-up there begins, Texas is now feeling the effects of the storm's remnants, combined with a separate weather system.
Navarro County, about 50 miles (80km) south of Dallas, was one of the worst affected areas, with the small town of Powell being inundated with 20 inches (50cm) of rain over 30 hours, according to Accuweather meteorologist Brett Rathbun.
The Union Pacific freight train came off the tracks near Corsicana, where a creek had burst its banks and washed away the rails. No injuries were reported.
County authorities requested sandbags for homes that have been evacuated due to flooding and Interstate 45 closed in some parts of Navarro County due to rising waters, stranding drivers.
Since Friday, about 75 water rescues from vehicles, homes and businesses have taken place in the area, Sheriff Elmer Tanner said.
"I've been in Navarro County my whole life and I've never seen a rain event like this here," he said.
"We've had over 14 inches of rain today. I've never seen anything close to that, to have that much rainfall at one time."
There have been no confirmed casualties so far but in San Antonio a woman reported that her boyfriend was swept into a drainage ditch as he walked his dog.
Saturday's rainfall caused the cancellation of about 100 flights at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, according to tracking service FlightAware.
As evening fell on Saturday and the storm moved eastward, cities in Texas' Gulf of Mexico region, including Houston, braced for potential floods.
Rain systems intensified by Patricia, which is now a tropical depression after hitting Mexico's west coast as a powerful hurricane with winds of 165mph, were pushing across the state.
With rain falling at a rate of four inches per hour, rivers are swollen and the creaks upstream are loading with the inevitable prospect of more flash flooding throughout Sunday and Monday.
Forecasters predict eight to 12in (20-30cm) of rain will hit the coastal area by Monday morning, combined with tides of up to 5ft (1.5m).
The heavy rain also affected the US Grand Prix, with qualifying having to be pushed back and eventual winner world champion Lewis Hamilton comparing the treacherous conditions to "playing with a rattlesnake".