Sewage: More than 100,000 gallons of untreated wastewater has spilled after Houston's Southwest Wastewater Treatment Plant flooded Tuesday when a bayou overflowed its banks
Overflowing dam: The Padera Dam near Dallas was dangerously close to overflowing, and sending a cascade of floodwaters into a nearby busy highway, as workers scrambled to pump off the excess
More bad news: Flash floods stranded motorists along the city's freeways after historic levels of rain hit the state
Submerged: Some lost their cars completely to the water as they became barely even visible
Cleanup begins: Sandy Reyesa adds wet books to a dumpster full of soggy carpets and belongings Wednesday in Houston, where residents were just starting to clean up after flash floods soaked much of the nation's fourth largest city
More to come: Meteorologists say storms that have been virtually parked over Texas for weeks are not yet done, raising the prospect of even more flooding
'The river is coming up fast and flowing at dangerous volumes,' Parker County Judge Mark Riley told a news conference.
The death toll in Texas was expected to rise, with about a dozen people still missing and a new round of thunderstorms pelting the already flood-hit cities of Houston and Austin.
In Hays County alone, nine people were missing after flooding on Monday caused homes to break off their foundations. Three people in the county about 30 miles (50kms) southwest of Austin were already confirmed dead.
The return of heavy rains was impeding emergency rescue efforts.
'The river is going to start to rise again,' said Kharley Smith, the Hays County Emergency Management coordinator. 'It is going to shift the previously inspected debris piles.'
Giant mess: Lorraine Joseph talks about her car still stuck the mud despite several attempts to pull it out Wednesday in Houston. Each attempt failed when the rescuers also got stuck in the mud
Search: Volunteers search for missing bodies along the Blanco River May 26, 2015 in San Marcos, Texas. The area was one of the hardest hit from recent storms and over a dozen remained unaccounted for Wednesday
A storm-ravaged highway along the Blanco River is strewn with debris. Rains were expected to continue through the weekend
Still more flash flood warnings were expected through the weekend in Texas, as a storm system that has settled along several southern states brings several more inches of rain
Floods damaged about 1,400 structures and snarled transport in Houston, the fourth most-populous U.S. city, where more than a thousands vehicles were trapped in rising water
Floods damaged about 1,400 structures and snarled transport in Houston, the fourth most-populous U.S. city, where more than a thousands vehicles were trapped in rising water.
Authorities in Houston confirmed two more storm-related deaths Wednesday, for a total of six. In all, at least 15 deaths were reported in Texas and four in Oklahoma.
The death toll is set to rise with numerous people still missing in Texas after the storms slammed the states during the Memorial Day weekend, causing record floods that destroyed hundreds of homes, swept away bridges, and even unearthed a coffin from a Houston cemetery. It washed ashore on the banks of a bayou.
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'A lot of folks drove their car into high water and had to abandon those vehicles,' Houston Mayor Annise Parker said at a news conference.
Two of the dead in Houston were found in their cars and another two were found in a bayou.
The Oklahoma Medical Examiner's office said six people died in weather-related incidents over the holiday weekend in the state.
Though Parker said parts of the city were unscathed, more than 1,000 vehicles were submerged in the Houston floods, CNN reports, and people took instead to bicycles, kayaks and surfboards to navigate water-covered streets.
SMALL TOURIST TOWN AMONG HARDEST HIT AS 13 TEXANS REMAINED MISSING WEDNESDAY
The vacation house where two families were to spend Memorial Day weekend was already gone, swept down the swollen Blanco River, when Carissa Smith's husband arrived.
All he found was a Chevrolet Suburban slammed against a tree, the engine running.
The fate of those who were inside the home was still unclear Tuesday. Recovery teams were to resume looking for a group of people who may have been staying at the two-story house in this small town in the Texas Hill Country, where punishing rains and other severe weather have destroyed or damaged more than 1,000 homes. At least 17 people were reported killed by the storms in Texas and Oklahoma.
Some of the worst damage so far has been in Wimberley, a popular bed-and-breakfast getaway surrounded by vineyards near Austin.
Hundreds of trees on the banks of the Blanco, which crested to a record 40-plus feet and tripled its flood stage, toppled on or near houses.
At left, a photo provided by the Hays County Sheriff's Office shows Michelle Charba, seated, with William Charba, 6. Both have been missing from Wimberley, Texas since Sunday along with William Charba (center left). Ralph Carey (center right) and Sue Carey (right) have also been missing from Wimberley since Sunday
Laura McComb (left), and her son and daughter Andrew, 6, and Leighton McComb (together at center and right) were missing from Wimberley and presumed dead Wednesday
'You cannot candy coat it. It's absolutely massive,' Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said after touring the destruction.
Witnesses said the vacation house was carried into the river by floodwaters and crashed into a bridge downstream. Bent concrete pylons and a few scattered horseshoes remained on the home's limestone slab.
At the top of a small slope that had led down to the house, the back wheels of a Suburban dangled above a ditch and its tailgate was smashed against a tree. Smith, who owns the land next door, said the car belonged to the homeowner.
'We think he went back in to get everybody out. Problem is, the house is up on stilts, so when they climb down the stairs, they had to climb into the water to get out,' said Smith, whose aunt and mother both live nearby. 'And I'm sure they realized that when they got in there, it was too late.'
Smith said she had spoken to relatives of the homeowner, a retired doctor.
Eight people missing from the destroyed house were friends and family who had gathered for the holiday, said Kristi Wyatt, a spokeswoman for the City of San Marcos. Three children, two age 6 and another 4, were among the missing.
Rescue teams planned to end their search efforts and move into a recovery phase.
'When you hit a bridge moving at 35 to 40 mph on the river, it's equivalent to a 70 mph head-on' collision, said Hays County Judge Bert Cobb.
Kenneth Reissig (left), Jose Arteaga-Pichardo (center) and Thomas Dayton have also all been missing from Wimberley since the weekend
Still missing: Flood debris atop a car in the Brays Bayou area where people are still missing following days of heavy rain and flash flooding in Houston
Trashed: A tornado and torrential rains hit northern Mexico as well as the US states of Texas and Oklahoma, killing at least 18 people and leaving thousands of homes damaged,
Raging waters: Debris collected in a destroyed swimming pool on the bank of the Blanco River in Wimberly, which can be seen in the background
Cruel reminder: A sign marks the road along the bank of the Blanco River, a cruel reminder of the source of destruction across much of eastern Texas
Rain still falls: Brian Quattrucci (L) and Mark Perez (R) move a flood-damaged mattress to the curb in front of a home in the Brays Bayou area where people are still missing following days of heavy rains and flooding
Hard-hit: A destroyed kitchen refrigerator lays among other debris near a ruined home in hard-hit Wimberly, Texas
Aftermath: A home in Wimberley, Texas is left mud-filled and uninhabitable as floodwaters slowly recede and reveal the devastation wrought by relentless storms
Ravaged: An overturned vehicle close to Blanco River which had flooded 2 days earlier. As of Wednesday morning, 18 were confirmed dead and over a dozen remained missing in flood-ravaged Texas and Oklahoma
The Houston Fire Department brought about 500 people to safety in boats, local media reports said.
President Barack Obama said on Tuesday he had assured Texas Governor Greg Abbott that he could count on help from the federal government as the state recovers from the floods. Abbott has declared a state of disaster in at least 40 Texas counties, including Harris County, which includes Houston.
Abbott said he has deployed the state's National Guard and was worried the death toll could rise.
'It's devastating to see what I saw on the Blanco River when this tidal wave of water just swept away neighborhoods,' he said, recalling a disaster area in central Texas.
Devastating: Over 11 inches of had fallen in parts of Houston, America's fourth largest city, where flooded highways have forced hundreds to abandon their cars
Fears mount: A destroyed car is submerged in the Blanco River in Wimberley, Texas, after the flood. Search and rescue crews are still looking for over a dozen people swept away in the floodwaters
More rain: Flash floods continued to be possible as the wave of storms over Texas refused to abate. More rain was expected through Saturday
Memorial Day disaster: People walk their dogs across a flooded street to see a bayou that over flowed its banks in Houston. The death toll is set to rise with numerous people still missing in Texas after the storms slammed the states during the Memorial Day weekend
Standstill: America's fourth largest city, and the largest in Texas, is now a morass of floodwaters and debris as more storms threaten continued damage
Friends and neighbors of homeowner help carry and wash off her belongings several days after the home received major water damage when the nearby Blanco River flooded
DAM THREATENS TO BREAK AND FLOOD DALLAS-AREA HIGHWAY
Police say emergency personnel could shut down a highway if a dam southwest of Dallas breaks.
Water was flowing over the top of the earthen dam at Padera Lake, near Midlothian, early Wednesday morning following days of heavy rain.
If the dam breaks, Highway 287 could flood with a couple of feet of water.
Midlothian police Capt. John Spann says officials will divert traffic if that happens, but for now they must 'just wait and see.'
He says it's mostly a rural area, but that residents of around a dozen homes have been warned they could be in jeopardy of flooding if the dam breaks. He says they are not in danger of being swept away and that there's no mandatory evacuation order.
Midlothian is some 25 miles southwest of Dallas.
Dam in distress: Workers attempt to relieve the pressure from the earthen dam at Padera Lake, Wednesday in Midlothian, Texas
Water was flowing over the top of the dam early Wednesday morning following days of heavy rain. Police say emergency personnel could shut down a highway if the dam, southwest of Dallas breaks
While authorities early Wednesday stressed that a dam breach was imminent, later reports played down dangers slightly
After earlier flooding, eleven people are confirmed missing due to flooding that hit along the Blanco River, and Hays County officials increased to three the number of bodies that have been found in that area. The missing are from two families whose vacation home was swept off its foundation in Wimberley, a town about 30 miles (50 km) southwest of Austin.
About 30 other people who were previously unaccounted for have been contacted, Hays County officials said.
Dogs and boats were being used to search for the missing. The river rose so quickly and with such force, it caused a flood gauge to break, Hays County officials said.
There was no damage estimate available for Texas, which has a $1.4 trillion-a-year economy and is the country's main domestic source of energy as well as an agricultural and manufacturing power.
Houston resident Dutch Small, 40, climbed onto the roof of his car when the water came up to his knees inside his vehicle and was eventually rescued by a passing tow truck driver.
There was no damage estimate available for Texas, which has a $1.4 trillion-a-year economy and is the country's main domestic source of energy as well as an agricultural and manufacturing power
A garden shed behind a home along the bank of the Blanco River in Wimberly after flooding destroyed hundreds of homes in Texas and Oklahoma over the holiday weekend
Flood waters cover several cars at the Meyergrove Apartment complex in Houston. Torrential rains turned streets into rivers and led to nearly 1,000 calls for help across the city
A totaled Porsche sits in the midst of the foundation of a home destroyed by the Memorial Day weekend floods in Wimberley, Texas
Amy Gilmour, a volunteer from San Antonio, Texas, helps pick up debris from the backyards of flood damaged homes along the Blanco River in Wimberley
'It happened so fast. Every person that died in the flooding, I know what was going through their minds. They didn't measure the threat accurately. They were like me,' Small told Reuters.
The National Weather Service issued tornado and thunderstorm watches for later on Tuesday and said more rain is expected this week in Texas and Oklahoma.
More than 200 flights had been canceled by early on Tuesday evening at airports in Houston and Dallas, some of the nation's busiest, as blocked roads made it difficult for workers to get to their jobs. A sinkhole also closed a runway at the Dallas/Fort Worth International airport.
Roughly 100,000 customers lost power throughout the state after the storm due to high winds and rising waters that caused power poles to snap.
In Houston, about 11 inches (28 cm) of rain fell on Monday while parts of Austin were hit by as much as 7 inches (18 cm). Helicopter crews in both cities plucked to safety people who had been stranded in cars and on top of buildings.
Stranded: Hundreds of people were forced to abandon their vehicles on the highway when flash floods hit the Houston area. Up to four inches of rain fell in a very short time. Commuters Tuesday morning were met with scenes like this one in Interstate 45
A tornado and torrential rains hit Texas and Oklahoma, killing at least 17 people and damaging hundreds of homes and buildings. At least 11 remain missing
Missing: Laura McComb and her children Andrew, 6, (right) and Leighton, 4, (left) are believed to be dead after their vacation home was washed away in severe flooding
Lone survivor: Jonathan McComb (left) was the only one found alive when the vacation home was swept away. The eight other people who were in the cabin are believed to have been killed
Homecoming queen Alyssa Ramirez, 18, had just attended her high school prom (left) in Devine, Texas on Saturday when her car was swept away by rising flood waters. Her body was recovered on Sunday
Search: Randy and Michelle Charba (right) and their 4-year-old son Will (left) are also missing. Mrs Charba is the daughter of Ralph and Sue Carey
Relatives of a flood victim react with shock after learning a loved one was found drowned
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news
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