Check out the drone video over Livingston, Texas on Thursday. The NWS estimates that up to 9 inches of rain fell. The runoff is already up to the eaves of ranch homes.
LIVINGSTON, Texas – Crews took to boats Thursday to rescue people trapped in their homes by floodwaters. Drone video shows the miles and miles of landscape that have been flooded by recent rains and overwhelmed rivers.
The National Weather Service estimates that 4-9 inches of rain fell over areas north of Houston. Flood Warnings remain in place even though forecasters are calling for less than an inch of new rain over the next 24 hours. That is because runoff continues to collect in already swollen creeks and rivers.
Polk County issued a mandatory evacuation for communities below the Lake Livingston Dam and low-lying areas along the Trinity River.
EVACUATIONS ORDERED IN TEXAS DUE TO LIFE-THREATENING FLOODING AS TORRENTIAL RAINS FALL
Drone footage over Livingston, Texas shows emergency crews with boats, suiting up for swift water rescues of residents trapped in their homes and cars, despite an evacuation order.
The footage shows the water levels in downtown Livingston reaching up to the roofs of single-story homes. Schools are closed until Monday. Several roads and highways are underwater, while others have been washed away. Authorities even closed a bridge over the Trinity River due to the high water.
The video showed a fleet of U-Haul trucks, some floating, that looked like rafts in a lake. In reality, the water is covering a parking lot.
RELENTLESS STORMS CONTINUE TO IMPACT COMMUNITIES FROM TEXAS TO MIDWEST
Drone video shows mile after mile of Livingston, Texas literally underwater. The white boxes are not floating in a river but U-Haul trucks in the flooded parking lot.
Livingston is only one of the towns underwater.
The Trinity River Authority has been upping the amount of water released from the Livingston Dam to relieve pressure and prevent a breach. The increased flow of the river is overwhelming downstream neighborhoods. The dam creates a reservoir that supplies water to four surrounding counties plus the city of Houston, according to the TRA.
Polk County Emergency Management issued a boil water notice for several subdivisions.