At least four people have been killed in Texas over the past three days as the state has been hit by a series of storms. The Houston Chronicle described Wednesday what it called a region “on weather steroids.” In Mexico, at least 13 people were also killed as a tornado struck the border town of Ciudad Acuna.
In Houston, the largest city in Texas, 9.8 inches (25 cm) of rain fell in just a few hours, forcing some 2,000 residents out of their homes. Texas Governor Greg Abbott said the flash flooding had “tsunami-type power,” and expanded Tuesday the emergency disaster zone to at least 40 counties.
More than 100,000 gallons of wastewater also spilled out in the area because of the flooding, the Houston Chronicle reports. Electrical and mechanical systems were damaged at a treatment plant in the southwest of the city.
The death toll is expected to rise as many people are still missing after the storm. Hundreds of homes were destroyed and thousands of cars abandoned.
ABOUT THE SOURCE: The Houston Chronicle is the largest daily in Texas and Houston’s primary newspaper. It won the 2015 Pulitzer prize for Commentary.
