Damage Assessments Begin as Texas Flooding Recedes
Thousands of Texans are in the process of repairing vehicles and cleaning homes of flood water and debris after massive rainstorms inundated many parts of the state.
Insurance adjusters are meeting with homeowners to assess the damage to both the structure of homes and its contents.
Those hardest hit have been residents living along the Blanco River in the Wimberley area of central Texas and in Houston. Hundreds of homes and thousands of vehicles have been submerged by the rapidly rising rivers and bayous in both areas. The search continues for several people who were swept away by the flood waters in Wimberley.
Several of Houston’s roadways have become impassable in the past 48 hours due to heavy rain. Several Houston neighborhoods have also been flooded. For the month of May, Houston’s Hobby airport has recorded 12.34 inches of rainfall.
The damage covered the state. Wichita Falls has had over 14 inches of rain making the month of May its wettest month ever with records dating back to 1897. The city’s Wichita River crested on May 24.
It has been Austin’s wettest April (19.82) and May (16.72) ever recorded with the rainfall for both months total 36.54 inches. Only one other month, September 1921, had more rainfall recorded with 20.78 inches. The city’s Shoal Creek crested on Memorial Day flooding downtown businesses.
Meteorologists with the National Weather Service say we have had a persistent southwest flow of moisture into Texas.
“What we have is a very large dip in the jet stream out to our west which along with upper air disturbances is bringing in an abundance of moisture from the Gulf of Mexico,” said Matt Stalley, a meteorologist with the NWS in Fort Worth.
The weather forecast for the remainder of the week calls for a chance for more thunderstorms.
Source: Insurance Council of Texas
Related: