© Michael Ciaglo/Houston Chronicle, via Associated Press The three men in the foreground had to abandon their truck Friday after getting caught in rising flood waters in Magnolia, Texas.
At least six people have died in flooding from torrential rain across large areas of Texas, and emergency workers were searching for an 11-year-old boy who was swept away in a storm-swollen creek in Kansas, the authorities said on Monday.
Record-breaking rain since the middle of last week has swallowed cars, damaged houses and led to the evacuation of 2,600 inmates. Thunderstorms brought more troubles to areas already saturated by
other recent storms.
In an area including San Antonio and Austin, Tex., the heavy rain could not soak into the limestone and sandstone that characterize the Hill Country region, leading narrow creeks to brim with fast-running waters.
Since Wednesday,
the thunderstorms have dropped pockets of intensely heavy rain, or "rain bombs," as meteorologists call them.
These have circulated through East Texas, Dallas and Corpus Christi, along with Austin and San Antonio, hitting some parts harder than others, said Kurt Van Speybroeck, a
National Weather Service meteorologist.
As a result, rainfall has ranged from four inches in parts of the Dallas-Fort Worth area to 30 inches in Washington County, the authorities said.
