Heavy rains batter already-drenched Houston area

Flood victims carry their pets and property to higher ground

HOUSTON, Texas -- Heavy rains continued to fall in the Houston area early Saturday morning, pooling on top of already-soaked ground following days of downpours from Tropical Storm Allison.

"This storm isn't moving, it is just sitting on top of us," said Harris County Emergency Management spokesman Rusty Cornelius. Harris, Waller, Montgomery and Fort Bend Counties remain under a flash-flood watch.

The hardest hit area Friday evening is north of Houston near Conroe, which got at least 10 inches of rain throughout the day. Officials closed Interstate 45 there in both directions for five miles because of high water.

Cornelius said authorities are also watching six bayous in the Houston area, some of which are in danger of overflowing. Brays Bayou has seen two-to-four inches in the past two hours alone, and emergency management officials are expecting as many as three more in the next few hours.

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Houston TranStar spokesman Artee Jones says if Brays Bayou overflows its banks, it's likely the water would even reach the renowned Texas Medical Center. Medical services have already been reduced due to ambulances having difficulties reaching the hospital.

"This is the worst storm we've seen in years, and it doesn't look like Center. Medical services have already been reduced due to ambulances having difficulties reaching the hospital.

"This is the worst storm we've seen in years, and it doesn't look like it's going to let up for a while," said Jones.

In Channelview, on the eastern outskirts of Houston, residents were pelted with 19 inches of water in four days. Cornelius said that region could take the water, since most of it drains off into the Houston Shipping Channel.

Rescue workers travel by boat to aid stranded motorists near Sims Bayou

He said so far, there had been no reports of fatalities and no serious injuries.

"Our public safety and emergency personnel are working miracles," Cornelius said.

Although no evacuations have been ordered, hundreds of motorists remain stranded. Six Red Cross shelters in the area have been opened to help accommodate them and the Austin National Guard has been authorized to provide additional assistance if needed.

Thursday, residents in and around Houston woke to the flooding of hundreds of homes. About 1,300 homes were affected, mainly in the Sims Bayou flood plain south of the city, a Red Cross spokesman said.

The slow-moving weather system made landfall along the Gulf coast overnight Tuesday, and has already inflicted millions of dollars of damage from Houston to New Orleans.