Mayor Annise Parker has asked for Gov. Greg Abbott to declare Houston a state of disaster after overnight storms left the Bayour City swamped and at least two residents dead.
One of the victims was found about 5 a.m. at 5757 Ranchester near Harwin. The victim was found inside the cab of a flooded pickup.
Police said another body was seen about three hours later floating in Brays Bayou near 5400 Ardmore. The woman's body was pushed in the current and was pulled from the water near 4300 block of South MacGregor Way.
According to the Houston Fire Department, the victims appeared to have drowned.
Jake freels lives just north of Brays Bayou and was biking in the area Tuesday morning when he noticed a helicopter circling above. Soon, another, bigger rescue helicopter came.
Freels said he saw a woman's body stuck in around 4 feet up in some trees at the edge of the Bayou, where water had submerged part of the path and surrounding area.
A rescuer dangling from the copter grabbed a hold of the woman's arm or leg and pulled her out of the tree, setting her down on a part of the path that was not underwater.
"Drug her up to the top where the water wasn't," Freels said.
He said the whole sequence took 20-25 minutes.
Police said a third person was found dead about 10:30 p.m. Monday in the 1433 West Loop South. Officers went to the scene after victim, Dennis Lee Callihan, was spotted lying near the exit of a parking garage after pushing his vehicle in the storm. Howver, his death is not believed to be weather-related, according to Houston Police. No foul play is suspected.
Authorities are continuing to search for three people that fell into flood when a rescue boat they were on capsized.
The incident occurred at Brays Bayou near the 610 Loop. Firefighters were attempting to save what they believe was a family of three and another man from fast-moving flood waters, said Capt. Ruy Lozano, an HFD spokesman.
Lozano said the firefighters rescued a woman belived to be in her 40s and her elderly parents in their 80s and were in the process of rescuing a third adult, whot they don't believe was related to the family, when the boat overturned. Firefighters immediately grabbed the woman, Lozano said.
A second rescue boat then came along and was able to pull the firefighters and woman from the water, however they were not able to pull out the other adults, Lozano said.
All the people had on life vests and authorities are hopeful that they were able to swim to safety, Lozano said.
It's unknown at this time if the two people found dead today were related to the incident on the rescue boat. Earlier this morning, authorities did not believe they were connected.
As the flood waters recded Tuesday, HFD and HPD teams searched waterways to make sure other people are not in danger. The crews also searched abandoned vehicles to determine if anyone is inside them.
Throughout the city motorists woke Tuesday morning to flooded freeways and streets, making the morning commute dangerous and even impossible for most.
The 610 Loop as well as Katy, North and South freeways were underwater in spots throughout the area. Other major roads blocked by high water include Memorial Drive and Allen Parkway near downtown.
Dozens of vehicles were stranded in high water throughout the city. In many cases, the water came up to to the driver's side windows of the abandoned cars, Other vehicles are almost submerged.
Light rail service along the three lines resumed around 10:30 a.m., with bus service along 14 core routes expected to start around noon, Metro officials said.
"Buses will run as conditions allow," officials said in a statement. "There will not be a set schedule and passengers should allow for extra time."
Park and ride buses will not operate Tuesday, and HOT lanes along local freeways will remain closed.
MetroLift – the agency's services for elderly and disabled passengers – will only provide trips that are medically necessary.
Firefighters with the Houston Fire Department said they were dispatched overnight to about 500 water rescues. Most of the calls were for stranded motorists, though some people needed help after they became trapped when they took out their small boats and explored the floorwaters. Areas along Brays Bayou near the 610 Loop were particularly hard hit with several rescues during the early morning hours Tuesday. Memorial Drive and Allen Parkway are closed.
According to the National Weather Service homes were reportedly flooded in the Larchmont subdivision about six miles southwest of the city early Tuesday morning. Some homes in Rosenberg were threatened as more than three feet of water rose in the Greenwood subdivision a few hours before dawn Tuesday.
At least 15 homes on the east side of the Hidden Lakes Townhomes in near northwest Houston were flooded overnight by rising water from a small lake behind the property and nearby White Oak Bayou.
Wayne Barnes, who has owned his townhome since 2005, said neighbors awakened him about 1:45 a.m.
"They banged on my door and said, 'it's coming," Barnes said. "Get your family and your vehicles out."
Barnes and his wife, Shirley, drove to a nearby all-night grocery store to wait out the storm.
On Tuesday morning Barnes and his family, along with their neighbors, were dragging furniture and other belongings out of their homes, cellphones clamped to their ears as they struggled to reach their insurance agents.
The rising water in the houses lifted furniture and left sofas, chairs and appliances strewn haphazardly around rooms where a few inches of water still stood. Sodden clothing was draped on cars; Barnes carefully arranged family photos on the hood of his vehicle.
A few doors down, Andrea Kazemzadeh stood amid the chaos of the home where her tenant lived. Kasamadeh wore elbow-length vinyl gloves as she picked through soaked furniture and other belongings.
"What do I do?" she asked, looking in despair at the scene surrounding her.
Floodwaters may begin to recede in most areas later Tuesday morning. But more could be possible in the afternoon with day-time heating, said Melissa Huffman, a weather service meteorlogist.
Harris County Judge Ed Emmett said highwater was reported in the basement of the Harris County Criminal Justice Center downtown. He said jury service was cancelled Tuesday and county buildings are closed. Only fire responders and other essential personnel are at work Tuesday, he added. Other county employees are not expected to show up for work.
Emmett said residents throughout the area should stay at home and indoors. If they need to drive they should use caution and avoid all high water. Efen when the flood water drains away, abandoned vehicles and debris likley will clog some roadways and create hazards.
"People need to use common sense," he said.
Municipal Courts have cancelled all dockets from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. People who are are set for court today between 8:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. will have until at 9:00 p.m. Friday to come to the court to reset their cases.
People with cases from 4:00 p.m. until 9:00pm should call 311 or visit houstontx.gov/emergency after 12:00 p.m. today for information about whether or not their cases will be reset.
Municipal Courts staff should contact their supervisor for reporting instructions.
Houston ISD, the area's largest school district, initially said classes would be delayed by two hours, posting the alert on Twitter at 4:33 a.m. About half an hour later, the district announced that schools would be closed.
Students in Houston ISD and other area districts that cancelled school Tuesday due to bad weather will not have to make up the missed day.
Texas Education Commissioner Michael Williams announced Tuesday afternoon that he would grant waivers to all the affected districts, exempting them from having to reschedule classes. The state typically requires districts to make up two missed days before waivers are issued.
Initial damage reports included flooding at HISD's Liberty High School in the Gulfton area in west Houston and some roof leaks, according to district spokeswoman Holly Huffman.
Most of the area's other large districts also cancelled classes.
METRO announced morning transit services were canceled Tuesday and that service would resume once conditions improved.
Runoff from heavy rainfall brought three creeks -- South Mayde Creek, Rummel Creek and Brickhouse Gully -- beyond their banks, the Harris County Flood Control District reported late Monday. Several are near bankful, including Willow Creek, Little Cypress Creek, Keegans Bayou and Little White Oak Bayou.
Wesley McCully was one of many drivers stranded by the storms Tuesday morning. He parked his car under an Interstate 10 overpass near the Beltway. He figured he'd be there for a couple of hours.
He was trying to get home, he lives off of Wilcrest, but couldn't get off the freeway. Feeders along several spots of the busy freeway, including at Bunker Hill, Shepherd and TC Jester, made for dangerous driving.
"This is the worst rain I've ever driven in before in my entire life," said McCully, his T-shirt drenched. "This is the only time I've had to pull over because it's so dangerous right now."
Willow Villarreal, spent eight hours in his vehicle trying to get from Montrose to his home in Oak Forest.
The proprietor of Willow's Texas BBQ at Grand Prize Bar left the bar once all the smart phones in the bar began howling with weather alerts.
"It was crazy out there with the lightning and the phones so I decided to make it home as quick as I could," Villarreal says. His own phone was not in service, to the worry of his girlfriend at home who had no knowledge of his whereabouts as frightening news began dominating the airwaves.
He used US-59 South to make his way to 610 North, only to be diverted by high water to the corner of Ella Boulevard near a Lowe's location. He heard from a man at a gas station that officials conducting a water rescue in a paddle boat where hitting cars with paddles beneath an overpass.
Villarreal finally made it home via I-45 sometime before 6 a.m.
Matt Toomey, the owner of Boomtown Coffee in the Heights off 19th Street said Tuesday morning that his shop took on at least two inches of water overnight. After doing some cleanup this morning Boomtown was open for business and slinging coffee for locals.
He wasn't on site but his friend who owns Heights Cigar Lounge was keeping tabs on shops in the popular shopping district.
Toomey, who also owns The Honeymoon Café & Bar, has another worry at the moment.
"I can't get to the storage where I keep all of my coffee," he says.
Big rig drivers were taking it slow on the feeder roads along the Northwest Freeway near Gessner, another dangerous spot. Water covered the roads, sloshing as it came up halfway to the mammoth wheels of the trucks. Several of the bright orange construction barrels had tipped over and were floating in the water.
And in the Memorial area, lightning struck an apartment late Monday, sparking a two-alarm fire, officials said.
No injuries were reported in the fire at the Country Place Apartments, 800 Country Place, near Memorial and North Dairy Ashford. Houston Fire Department officials reported that the fire, which broke out about 9:44 p.m., caused significant damage to an apartment.
