Death toll reaches 8 in Houston floods

The number of deaths from Houston area floods reached 8 with the drowning of an Austin County woman who drove her vehicle into high water after leaving work, according to click 2  Houston.

The floods started Sunday night and continued on Monday bringing twenty inches of rain in some areas of the city. Communities that straddles Cypress Creek were hit hard, starting in North Houston on Imperial Valley near Spring, Texas where one of the victims succumbed to high water. Following Cypress Creek west near Highway 90, high water covered several residential communities, as residents were assisted to flood command centers, waiting patiently for the water to reside.

Greens Bayou ran over its bank near I-45 North on Monday wrecking havoc in several apartment complexes as some of the residents were seen being rescued in boats and one child was being pushed in a refrigerator. Several resident being interviewed on local television said first floor apartments were under water. Many of the residents in Arbor Court complex said First Respondents were slow in reaching their working class community because the more affluent Meyerland Park area near 610 and  Braeswood took precedence. To which, Mayor Sylvester Turner quickly rebutted those accusations as he was seen in the Arbor Court area assessing the situation.

Two more deaths occurred near 610 West Loop and Highway 59 falling prey to high water. Another body was found in her car off of Highway 59 near Post oak and Westpark. A Houston fatality was uncovered in a drainage ditch on Briar Creek Boulevard. A rig driver was found dead near the Hardy Toll Road another Houston victim of high water, according to Click 2 news.

Austin County is a few miles west of Houston near the Brazos River where the normally shallow body of water jumped it’s bank and flooded nearby communities. The last victim occurred in southern Waller County, near Brookshire west of Houston. All of the deaths were due to drowning by driving into high water, and not recognizing the depth and speed of the water.