Vehicles were nearly submerged Thursday morning near the Elegante Hotel in Beaumont.
Tropical Depression Imelda might not have the same ring as Hurricane Imelda, but the impacts of the storm are for real. The National Weather Service has issued a civil emergency warning as a flooding crisis unfolds in the region rocked by Harvey's historic floods just two years ago.
Upwards of 40 inches of rain have fallen along the Texas Gulf Coast over the past 72 hours with the highest total of 41.81 inches reported so far. That makes Imelda the fifth wettest tropical cyclone to hit the Lower 48 on record, and it could rise in the record books in the coming hours.
Embedded within the heavy rainstorm totals are shocking bouts of downpours. That includes nearly 30 inches of rain falling over a 12-hour period in Mayhaw Bayou, a weather station located about 60 miles east of Houston. Multiple locations have also reported one-hour rainfall in excess of five inches, which is, meteorologically speaking, a crap-ton of rain.
The widespread heavy rain has led to dangerous flash flood conditions as creeks overflow and stormwater management systems back up. Water rescues are already underway in parts of the greater Houston area with boats using flooded out highways to reach stranded citizens. Harris County's sheriff tweeted that emergency managers were receiving a "high volume of calls for high-water rescues at homes and for stranded motorists," and things will continue to deteriorate as Imelda crawls inland.
Comment: Some recent reports demonstrating the increasingly aggressive behavior shown by bears which have resulted in serious injuries and even fatalities: