Search for 2 Missing From Central Texas Floods to Continue

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Mike Stoner gets out of his flooded car, Friday, Oct. 30, 2015 in San Marcos, Texas. A fast-moving storm packing heavy rain and destructive winds overwhelmed rivers and prompted evacuations Friday in the same area of Central Texas that saw devastating ...

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Two Dead as Severe Flooding Swamps South-Central Texas; Multiple Tornadoes Reported

Published Oct 30 2015 11:16 PM EDT

weather.com

Flood Emergency and Tornado Impacts in Texas

Meteorologist Ari Sarsarlari takes a look at flash flood emergencies in Texas as well as the tornado damage in Floresville and D'Hanis, Texas.

Two people are now dead after an onslaught of torrential rain caused a nightmare flooding event in South-Central Texas Friday.
Roger Wade, Travis County public information officer, said a man in his 40s or 50s was found on the 10300 block of FM 1625 around 4 p.m. local time after he was swept away by floodwaters in Travis County, Texas.
Eyewitnesses told authorities they were attempting to reach the man on the roof of his car when he was swept away, KVUE reports. The man has not been identified, pending notification of relatives.
The second death was confirmed Friday night after the victim's body washed up in Camp Bullis, a U.S. Army training camp, around 6:15 a.m. 502nd Air Base Wing chief of public affairs for Joint Base San Antonio Oscar Balladares said the individual was a contract exmployee whose vehicle was washed down stream. An identity has yet to be released.
(MORE: Track Severe Weather in the South)
According to KVUE, crews are also looking for a 37-year-old man who was swept off the top of his car in the area of SH 130 and FM 812. Two other people were in the car, but they were rescued.
An elderly woman went missing near Citation and Ruidosa in Southeast Travis County around 1:15 p.m. Friday. The woman and her husband were being rescued from a home at the time. Crews were able to get her husband to safety. He was taken to an area hospital.

South-Central Texas: Homes, Roads Collapse; State of Disaster Declared

The Sheriff’s Office was working a house collapse and gas leak at 10600 Ruidosa early Friday evening. The Austin Fire Department also responded to the location.
Later Friday, a state of disaster was declared for the county, the Austin Statesman reported.
A separate flood emergency was issued in South Austin, in areas near Onion Creek in Travis County. For those looking for a place to take shelter in the Onion Creek area, Dittmar Recreation Center was made available.
Near Driftwood, Onion Creek quickly rose to a new record level. Before noon Friday, water levels at that part of the creek were already above the previous record of 25.1 feet, and the waterway was expected to continue its rise.
Multiple water rescues were conducted elsewhere in Austin and Travis counties, including the rescue of two police officers caught in rushing floodwaters, as well as that of Ed Asapi, who clung to an 18-wheeler until rescuers reached him.
"We just thought like this is it. That's the end of our journey today. But then they got us, they got through," Asapi told KVUE.

More than 10 inches of rain fell in a two-hour span near the creek Friday morning. Multiple people were rescued from floodwaters in Travis County earlier Friday morning.
The Austin County Emergency Management Service reported Friday afternoon that multiple residents in the Man-O-War/Maha Loop/Quicksilver area were stranded on their rooftops and rescues were underway. Austin ResQ Medics escorted a medical patient across a flooded roadway to a waiting ambulance and made at least one water rescue later Friday.
(MORE: The 9 Worst Things You Can Do During A Flood Emergency)
Among those rescued earlier in the day was a church group from Dallas, stuck at a Wimberley bed-and-breakfast when a nearby creek overflowed and trapped them. Kathleen Haney told the Associated Press she and seven others from the Dallas group were saved by members of the National Guard when they strung a rope between the staircase and higher ground, and they were then brought to safety.
The flooding was so strong that it swept away three of their cars and snapped several trees, she told the AP.

Enlarge

Heavy rains undercut a road outside Elgin, Texas Friday afternoon causing it to collapse. (Twitter/Sakeenah)

Heavy rains in Elgin undercut Ann Flowers Drive causing a section of the road to collapse Friday afternoon.Flooding forced San Marcos city officials to close an evacuation center at the San Marcos Activity Center Friday afternoon. Citizens who were waiting out the flood at the Activity Center were bussed to a new evacuation center at Miller Middle School.
In Austin, boats were deployed by the Austin Fire Department to help with water rescues. Passenger vehicles were nearly submerged by floodwaters near the interchange linking U.S. Highway 183 and State Route 71 near Austin-Bergstrom International Airport late Friday morning.

Many of the small creeks that run through the city of Austin were raging torrents Friday morning, with some near or above flood stage.

Areas near the Blanco River were also being evacuated Friday morning, and the bridge over the river at RR 12 in Wimberley was closed.
In eastern Bexar County, a school bus with children inside got stuck in high water, and crews were able to successfully remove everyone inside, the Bexar County Sheriff's Office said via Twitter.
New Braunfels officials warned residents to take flooding seriously and get to safety. A civil emergency message was issued for Comal County, warning residents that river flooding along the Comal and Guadalupe rivers was imminent, and residents in low-lying areas should evacuate to Canyon High School.

Reported Tornadoes Leave Damage

The towns of D'Hanis and Floresville took the hardest hit from the early Friday suspected tornadoes. There were also reports of damage near San Marcos as the severe weather pushed northeast. Bluebonnet Electric tweeted photos of a mangled transmission tower near San Marcos Friday afternoon.

NWS meteorologist Jason Runyen said businesses have been damaged in downtown D'Hanis and that trees are also down. Medina County authorities told NBC San Antonio that a bank was destroyed and other buildings were damaged, but they were unsure if there were any injuries.
The Wilson County Sheriff's Office told The Weather Channel that Floresville High School was damaged. No injuries have been reported from either of the suspected tornadoes.
When the suspected tornado hit Floresville at about 6 a.m. local time, Ruth Veliz was at her parents' taco shop with about a dozen customers and employees. She told the AP an employee exclaimed "Tornado!" and attempted to close the door as strong winds bore down on the building.
Those inside the shop took cover anywhere they could and rode out the storm. "We were all caught off guard, everyone just grabbed on to what they could get their hands on," Veliz told the AP.
Floresville ISD said on its Facebook page that schools will be closed Friday.

Some homes and other structures between Seguin and Zorn lost roofs during the storms, Guadalupe County Sheriff's Capt. Tom Meeley told the Associated Press.
D'Hanis is located some 50 miles west of San Antonio, while Floresville is about 30 miles southeast of the San Antonio. The two cities are about 70 miles apart.

Lightning Strike in Brownsville

The National Weather Service office in Brownsville took a direct lightning strike on it's radar assembly Friday evening as storms continued to roll through the area.
(WATCH: Lightning Strikes Radar Assembly)
More than a half-foot of rainfall has been observed in parts of Brownsville on Friday, creating widespread travel problems. Several streets were closed, according to the Brownsville Herald, and power outages also knocked out many traffic lights in the city.
Hundreds of homes in Brownsville lost power during the storms, and thousands more were in the dark in the suburbs, the report added. All Halloween events scheduled Friday night by the Brownsville Police Department have been canceled, the Herald also said.
NWS Brownsville reported that high winds blew the windows out of several cars and tore the roof of a mobile home several miles north of Willamar, Texas, Friday morning.

More Storms on the Way

Severe weather is expected to continue in the Southern Plains throughout the weekend.
"The threats are two-fold. First, warm and very humid air coupled with an approaching southward dip in the jet stream will spawn severe thunderstorms, some of which may spawn tornadoes, in Texas and the Deep South through Saturday," said weather.com meteorologist Jon Erdman. "Secondly, areas of slow-moving, heavy rain will trigger flash flooding in Texas and Oklahoma through early Saturday, then spread into the Lower Mississippi Valley and Deep South later Saturday. This flood threat includes San Antonio, Austin, Dallas and Houston."
This is a developing story. Please check back frequently for updates.

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