Texas slammed with flash floods as Tropical Depression Edouard leaves over 70K without power
PORT ARTHUR, Texas — Tropical Depression Edouard is swamping Southeast Texas with heavy rain and flash flooding and has left more than 70,000 customers without power as it slowly makes its way inland.A Flash Flood Emergency for life-threatening flooding was issued for parts of Hardin and Tyler counties shortly after 5:45 a.m.local time.Edouard made landfall as a tropical storm near Johnson Bayou, Louisiana, about 15 miles south-southeast of Port Arthur, Texas, at 2:20 p.m.
local time, packing maximum sustained winds of 60 mph and a minimum central pressure of 996 mb, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC).Edouard was downgraded to a tropical depression at 10 p.m.Tuesday.The National Weather Service said 10 to 21 inches of rain have fallen across the area covered by the Flash Flood Emergency as of early Wednesday and urged people in the Kountze, Village Mills and Honey Island communities to seek higher ground immediately.The Woodville Independent School District and several others nearby canceled school Wednesday morning.Kountze city officials said on social media that power lines were down and flooding was ongoing early Wednesday, and asked people to avoid travel. A Flood Watch remains in effect for much of the region through Wednesday evening, including Houston, while a Flash Flood Warning was in effect early Wednesday for Hardin, Jefferson, Tyler, Chambers, Liberty, Polk and San Jacinto counties.Meanwhile, the Port Arthur Independent School District announced that it will remain closed Wednesday to assess damage to infrastructure.City emergency management officials said they were investigating widespread reports of a gas odor across parts of the city as the storm came ashore.Both the city and Jefferson County issued disaster declarations ahead of the storm to help speed up anticipated cleanup.The Jefferson County Commissioner shared video of downed trees that had taken down power lines late Tuesday, and asked people to stay off the ...