Deadly onslaught of flooding hits Texas after days of rain
KINGSLAND, Texas — Flooding in central Texas turned deadly Tuesday, following days of pouring rain. Some rivers are up to 13 feet above flood stage, prompting evacuations, CBS News' Courtney Zubowski reports.
Boats and trees raced downstream from of the Max Starcke Dam, with floodgates open to ease the pressure. More than 10 feet of the overflowing Llano River destroyed a section of the FM 2900 bridge in Kingsland, Texas, all caused by drenching rain since Monday.
Officials said one person died. Conditions forced the shutdown of a bridge over the Colorado River, leaving residents in Llano County in shock. Mandatory evacuations have been ordered in the surrounding neighborhoods and rescue efforts are already underway
"We had people trapped in certain islands that we just can't get to. You see behind me the water is moving so quickly, plus the debris, we just can't put boats in that kind of water, so we need the helicopters as well," said Palmer Buck with the Austin Fire Department.
The Llano River crested Tuesday afternoon at nearly double major flood levels. But people in the region aren't out of trouble yet.
"We want to keep encouraging people stay off the roads," Buck said.
Getting the word out about evacuations have been hampered by the fact that several cellphone towers were destroyed and landlines are down. On that top of that, the Llano River is expected to have a secondary rise by Wednesday morning.
