At least seven people died in flooding in Texas over the Memorial Day weekend, and heavy rains will continue to douse the state through the end of this week. On Wednesday, thunderstorms are forecast to dump rain on Oklahoma and central and western Texas, but Houston and eastern Texas, still reeling from heavy weekend flooding, will get hit again on Thursday, according to the National Weather Service. In suburban Houston's Fort Bend County, the Brazos River surpassed 54 feet on Tuesday night, topping a 1994 record by about four feet. With the coming rains, the Brazos is expected to match a record crest from 1957, the Houston Chronicle reports.
The flooding has prompted evacuations, and in Fort Bend County, the rising water has reportedly brought with it water moccasin snakes and other critters looking to ride out the floods in houses, according to KHOU-TV. And once the swollen rivers have crested, they won't recede for several days, says Alan Spears of the Fort Bend County Office of Emergency Management. "This is one of those lifetime events," he added. "We are kind of anticipating some things that we've never seen before." For more on the flooding, watch the Associated Press report below. Peter Weber
The Week
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