Tornadoes, flooding hit Texas in second day of turbulent weather
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Version 0 of 1. The death toll rose to six in Texas as more bodies were recovered on Saturday after another band of strong storms and heavy rain spawned three tornadoes and dangerous flooding in the waterlogged state. It was the second day of turbulent weather in the state, where at least four people died Friday in flood waters in central Texas. The storms and suspected tornadoes, which forecasters say were caused by an upper-level disturbance from Mexico, socked an already-sodden swath of Texas that was still drying out from the remnants of Hurricane Patricia. In the Houston area, some locations had received nearly 12 inches of rain since Friday, though it had mostly stopped by Saturday afternoon. The water flooded streets and freeway frontage roads and caused bayous to spill over their banks. The Houston Fire Department said it had responded to more than 130 water rescues on Saturday, and some public light-rail and bus transportation was suspended. Houston officials also said they had received 44 reports of structural flooding, including homes and businesses, and the city’s fire department helped remove residents from flooded homes near a bayou in the northeastern part of the city. Houston police discovered two bodies that are thought to be weather-related deaths, one in a flooded ditch and another in a wooded area where there had been high water, according to city spokesman Michael Walter. As the storms moved east Saturday, National Weather Service meteorologist Patrick Blood said a tornado went through Brazoria County near Alvin at about 5 a.m., damaging about 25 mobile homes in the community that’s 30 miles south of Houston. Thirty minutes later, a tornado hit the Houston suburb of Friendswood, where about 30 homes had minor damage and the roof of one home was ripped off. The NWS rated the tornado as an EF-2 when it first touched down, which can spawn winds of 150 mph. Between 10 and 30 homes were damaged by a tornado in a subdivision in eastern Harris County at about 7 a.m. Saturday, Blood said. — Associated Press A search team using sophisticated scanning sonar has found the wreckage of a vessel believed to be the cargo ship El Faro, which went missing with 33 crew members Oct. 1 during Hurricane Joaquin, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board said late Saturday. The federal agency issued a statement that searchers aboard the USNS Apache, a Navy vessel contracted for the search, said they believed they located wreckage of the ship at 1:36 p.m. Saturday at a depth of about 15,000 feet of water in the vicinity of the ship’s last known position. The statement added that the wreckage was detected on the fifth of 13 surveying passes. “To confirm the finding, specialists on Apache will use . . . a deep ocean remotely operated vehicle to survey and confirm the identity of the wreckage. This survey could begin as early as November 1,” said the statement released in Washington by the NTSB’s Peter Knudson. It added that the wreckage spotted in the depths is “consistent with a 790-foot cargo ship, which from sonar images appears to be in an upright position and in one piece.” The 790-foot El Faro was reported missing east of the Bahamas, according to the Coast Guard. The El Faro’s captain had called in before the vessel disappeared saying the ship had lost its engine power during its voyage from Jacksonville, Fla., to San Juan, Puerto Rico. The captain, Michael Davidson, said the ship was listing, and taking on water. — Associated Press Man kills three in Colorado: A man marching down the street shot and killed three people on Saturday, before being fatally shot in a gunbattle with police, authorities and witnesses said. Officers were responding to a report of shots being fired when they spotted a suspect matching the description of the person they were trying to find, Colorado Springs police Lt. Catherine Buckley said. The suspect opened fire, and police fired back, she said.Witnesses described a chaotic scene as the suspect went down the street with a rifle. — Associated Press |