Southeast Texas flooding: photos capture water rescues of people and pets and severe damage to homes

Yahoo News Photo Staff
Several people wearing life jackets in a boat with sheriff's deputies.
A woman reacts as she and others are evacuated by boat from their homes by Montgomery County Sheriff's Office deputies on Friday in Conroe, Texas. (Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle via AP) (AP)

Heavy rains and rising rivers in Southeast Texas near the Houston area have led to school closings, high-water rescues and mandatory evacuation orders.

More than 80,000 people were under flash flood warnings on Friday in Harris, Liberty and Montgomery counties, and officials in the waterlogged region urged residents to prepare for the flooding to get worse.

Over nine inches of rain fell during the past 24 hours, according to the National Weather Service. It has also issued a flood warning until Tuesday for the region.

Of particular concern are the neighborhoods along the San Jacinto River, where mandatory evacuations are in place for residents within a half mile of the river and to the east. The river is expected to rise another nine feet between Friday and Saturday, according to officials.

“This threat is ongoing and it’s going to get worse. It is not your typical river flood,” Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said Friday at a news conference.

About 26 people and 30 pets have been rescued so far, according to Judge Hidalgo. Photographers captured images of some of those rescues in Conroe, Texas. No fatalities have been reported as of Friday morning, according to the Texas Tribune.

Meanwhile, severe storms caused several trees to fall in Spring, Texas, where photographers captured the severe damage they caused to some homes there.

Here’s a look at the situation unfolding in Southeast Texas:

A woman is handed her child after being evacuated by boat.
A woman is handed her child after being evacuated by boat from her home with the help of deputies with the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office on Friday in Conroe, Texas. (Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle via AP) (AP)
A pickup truck maneuvers a residential street filled with water.
A pickup truck maneuvers a residential street filled with water in the Woodloch, Texas, subdivision near The Woodlands as floodwaters rise on Friday. (Kirk Sides/Houston Chronicle via AP) (AP)
Two people survey damage from a fallen tree.
Summer Belson, left, and her brother, Steve Brown, survey damage from a tree that fell in Belson's backyard during a severe storm on Thursday in Spring, Texas. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via AP) (AP)
A firefighter carries a woman who was evacuated in a boat through floodwaters.
Conroe firefighter Cody Leroy carries a resident evacuated in a boat by the CFD Rapid Intervention Team from her flooded home in the aftermath of a severe storm on Thursday in Conroe, Texas. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via AP) (AP)
A man carries two dogs wrapped in a blanket.
A man carries his dogs rescued by boat from his home by Caney Creek Fire and Rescue on River Plantation Drive on Friday in Conroe, Texas. (Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle via AP) (AP)
Emergency workers in a boat with a rescued dog.
Emergency workers with Caney Creek Fire and Rescue carry a dog from a flooded area in the River Plantation area of Conroe, Texas, on Friday. (Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle via AP) (AP)
People survey the damage from a fallen tree.
Family members survey the damage after a tree fell on the home of Monica Ramirez during a severe storm on Thursday in Spring, Texas. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via AP) (AP)
A woman is rescued by airboat.
A woman is rescued by airboat from her home by Montgomery County Sheriff's Office deputies on River Plantation Drive on Friday in Conroe, Texas. (Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle via AP) (AP)
A woman surveys the damage to her home after several trees fell on it.
Monica Pease surveys the damage to her home after several trees fell on it during a severe storm on Thursday in Spring, Texas. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via AP) (AP)
An SUV is stranded in a flooded ditch.
An SUV is stranded in a ditch in a stretch of street flooding during a severe storm on Thursday in Spring, Texas. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via AP) (AP)

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