A flash flood watch has been issued from Victoria, Texas, to New Orleans.
Tropical depression Beta, which made landfall in Texas Monday night as a tropical storm, is pounding Houston with torrential rain and flash flooding — and more rain is still expected for the city and surrounding areas.
The latest
Houston is buried under 1 foot of rain as rainfall rates reach up to 2 inches per hour on Tuesday.
Authorities have conducted nearly 100 water evacuations, said the Houston fire chief.
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo and the local authorities are urging people to stay home and off the roads.
Metro Houston said it’s temporarily suspending transit services due to the storm.
The forecast
Beta is crawling northeast at an incredibly slow 2 mph.
Beta will continue to weaken over the next 24 hours, but the rain will continue. Flash flood watches are in effect from Victoria, Texas, to Houston to Lake Charles, Louisiana, to New Orleans.
The Weather Prediction Center has issued a high risk warning for flash flooding for Houston and Galveston through Wednesday morning.
By Wednesday morning, the rain will start to lighten up in Houston as the storm moves east — Beta will finally pick up speed, bringing heavy rain to Louisiana on Wednesday and Thursday and then Mississippi on Thursday and Friday.
The heaviest rain will hit New Orleans Tuesday night through Wednesday.
