HOUSTON – Torrential rains and a tornado swept through southeast Texas, killing three people trapped in rising floodwaters, destroying homes and shutting down numerous schools Monday.
Two women in Houston were found dead in a sport utility vehicle caught in floodwaters at least 8 feet deep. Another body was discovered in a submerged vehicle in Fort Bend County on the southwest side of Houston.
As much as 10 inches of rain fell in the Houston-Galveston area overnight.
Parts of Interstates 10 and 45 were shut down around Houston, and the University of Houston and several other schools were closed. Some delays were reported at both of Houston’s major airports.
A tornado struck east of Houston near the Jefferson County town of China, not far from the Louisiana line, said emergency management spokeswoman Darlene Koch. The National Weather Service confirmed the tornado, and Koch said five mobile homes and two houses were destroyed. No injuries were reported.
In the Texas Coastal Bend, as many as 20 homes were damaged as a suspected tornado roared through the small Lavaca Bay community of Magnolia Beach before daybreak Monday, Calhoun County Sheriff B.B. Browning said.
The only injury reported in the small community 75 miles northeast of Corpus Christi was a cut thumb a man suffered from flying glass, he said.
More than a dozen Houston-area public schools and the Galveston public school system canceled classes Monday because of power outages and flooded roads.
In Dallas, up to four inches of rain prompted flash flood warnings. Flood advisories also were issued for other parts of north and west Texas.
The storms were expected to continue across north and east Texas before tapering off late Monday night, forecaster Joe Harris said.
In Louisiana, three people were hurt early Monday when strong winds blew through the fishing community of Leeville, 90 miles south of New Orleans, authorities said.
An elderly couple was rescued from an overturned trailer. The woman suffered a broken arm, while her husband was treated for bruises and lacerations, said Larry Weidel, a spokesman for the Lafourche Parish sheriff. Another person was treated for a knee injury, he said. The storm also sank at least two boats.
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