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Updated Tuesday, May 27 (7:51 a.m.)
At least 19 people are dead and 11 people are still missing after record rainfall in Texas and parts of Oklahoma caused major flooding over Memorial Day weekend. Flash flood watches and warnings remain in effect as the area braces for another round of storms in the forecast.
One of the hardest hit cities was Houston, where 7 to 10 inches of rain fell in a span of just a few hours, closing highways and forcing some people to evacuate their homes and businesses. Rainfall rates exceeded 4 inches an hour at times on Monday, May 25, prompting the National Weather Service to issue a flash flood emergency for southwest Houston for the first time since Hurricane Ike in Septemer 2008, according the Houston Chronicle.
It was reported that dozens of vehicles almost entirely submerged by water were stranded throughout the city, and more than 80,000 people in the Houston area were without power late Monday night as Gov. Greg Abbott declared a state of disaster.
President Barack Obama, in speaking to reporters Tuesday at the Oval Office, pledged federal assistance to help Texas recover from flooding. "I assured Gov. Abbott that he could count on the help of the federal government," Obama said. "I will anticipate that there will be some significant requests made to Washington. My pledge to him is that we will expedite those requests."
People took to social media to share some of the chaos and destruction and also to warn others about the danger.
To get a sense of the scale of flooding in TX, those oil pumps are 7 feet high. H/T @DianeSweet pic.twitter.com/EAlruFPvtY
— Bill McKibben (@billmckibben) May 25, 2015
.@SixFlagsOverTX remained open today despite getting heavy rain, flooding overnight and this morning. pic.twitter.com/yxoxMuRiiS
— FOX 4 NEWS (@FOX4) May 24, 2015
Reddit user says this is before & after of flooding in Pedernales River near Austin, TX. pic.twitter.com/TU6o7znGvi
— Sean Breslin (@Sean_Breslin) May 24, 2015
Flooding now widespread through Central Austin http://t.co/8SONXBTfxA #atxfloods pic.twitter.com/t1jJc4dhwU
— Austin Statesman (@statesman) May 25, 2015
Downtown Austin flooding. #TexasFlood pic.twitter.com/UPdtPKhzhz
— Texan Gent (@TexanGentsCode) May 26, 2015
We're updating our Austin flood coverage here: http://t.co/TUpn5ZeYgT #ATXFlood #atxfloods pic.twitter.com/QNnowLcAcz
— KUT Austin (@KUT) May 25, 2015
Heavy rains that inundated parts of central Texas have pushed into the Houston area http://t.co/ZtsYKmpRD4 pic.twitter.com/EPoiNlshGl
— The New York Times (@nytimes) May 26, 2015
#breaking Wild pictures of flooding in Austin. We are tracking the storms headed our way on #KPRC2 at 6pm. pic.twitter.com/SR3lHRxXUi
— MikeFriedrich #KPRC2 (@FriedrichMedia) May 25, 2015
Flooding in central Texas largest in "history of this region", say emergency workers http://t.co/5L5MIRtGWn pic.twitter.com/vCfivOKry6
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) May 25, 2015
530 AM: Here's a look at where some of the heaviest rain fell overnight for Southeast TX: #txwx #houwx #bcswx pic.twitter.com/r6TMJuaDRu
— NWSHouston (@NWSHouston) May 26, 2015