| USA TODAY | - |
By
Saturday afternoon, the San Antonio International Airport had recorded
nearly 10 inches of rain since midnight. Texas flood. A flood gage shows
waters just under 10 feet at an intersection Saturday in San Antonio.
1 killed, more than 200 rescued in San Antonio floods
The
San Antonio Fire Department says a 29-year-old woman was trapped in her
car, got on the roof and was swept away in floodwaters. Her body was
later found against a fence. (May 25)
By Saturday afternoon, the San Antonio International Airport had recorded nearly 10 inches of rain since midnight.
One person has been killed, another is missing and about 235 have been rescued in the San Antonio area after the region was inundated with nearly 10 inches of rain Saturday.San Antonio Fire Department spokesman Christian Bove told the Associated Press that a 29-year-old woman was trapped in her car, got on the roof and was swept away in floodwaters. Her body was later found against a fence.
Rescue workers are searching for a second woman, reported to be in her 60s, who's missing after firefighters were unable to free her from her vehicle.
"They were in the midst of getting her out when the currents changed and washed that vehicle away," San Antonio Fire Chief Charles Hood told KSAT 12 News.
The San Antonio Fire says it has conducted more than 235 water-related rescues of people from their homes and cars in the San Antonio area, where water is up to 4 feet high in some homes. In one neighborhood, first responders used inflatable boats to remove 54 people alone, Bexar County spokeswoman Laura Jesse.
By Saturday afternoon, the San Antonio International Airport had recorded nearly 10 inches of rain since midnight. The highest amount reported in that same time frame was 15.5 inches at Olmos Creek at Dresden Drive. Nearly all streams and rivers in the area are flooded as a result of the heavy rains.
Saturday marks the second-wettest day ever recorded in San Antonio, the San Antonio Express-News reported. The wettest day on record is Oct. 17, 1998, when 11.62 inches of rain fell. In that flood, the Guadalupe and San Antonio River basins overflowed, leaving more than 30 people dead, according to the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority.
The 1998 record is likely to stand as the heavy rains have moved east of the city. (Because the gauge at Olmos Creek is not an official weather station, the National Weather Service does not consider it to be a record.)
Flood levels on the San Antonio River at Loop 410 reached a new record of 34.2 feet, beating a previous record of 32.57 feet set on Oct. 17, 1998, CNN reported.
By Saturday evening, the water was receding quickly in much of San Antonio. However, pools of water could still be seen in some low-lying areas. And several roads were closed, including a major highway that li
nks the suburbs and the city.
Despite a break in the rain, Mayor Julian Castro urged motorists to stay off roads.
"Many roads throughout the city continue to be impassable and dangerous," he said in a statement. "Just because it's not raining at the moment, does not mean that the threat has passed."
It is not known how much the rainfall will impact drought in the region because much of it will run off into creeks and rivers, NWS meteorologist Pat McDonald told the Express-News.
"Hopefully, it will help, but it will take us a week or two weeks for all the data to come in," he said. "It depends on how much soaks into the aquifer."
Contributing: The Associated Press
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