Kirbyville, Texas was hit by a flash flood emergency early Wednesday morning as severe thunderstorms pummeled the region, submerging roads and trapping drivers in their vehicles.
The small town of about 2,000 residents saw floodwaters rise rapidly, with some areas under several feet of water.
Rescue Efforts Underway as Water Levels Rise
The Jasper County Sheriff’s Office reported that its deputies, local fire departments, and emergency authorities were deployed for rescue efforts around Kirbyville.
Mayor Frank George said that since before daylight, volunteers and a swift water rescue team had been circulating in boats, pulling stranded people out of homes.
We are getting calls as the water rises and are expecting the water to rise, George said.
He noted that across the street from where he sat in his truck, the flooded Central Baptist Church had water skimming the roof of a parked Lincoln Continental.
Storms Batter Region with Heavy Rain and Damaging Winds
The flash flooding in Kirbyville was part of a larger severe weather outbreak that unfolded across the South, with reported tornadoes, large hail and damaging winds battering the lower Mississippi Valley and Southeast.
Flash Flood Emergencies, the most severe flood alert the National Weather Service can issue, were declared in parts of southeastern Texas and Louisiana as some areas saw up to a foot of rain.
Widespread Impacts and Dangerous Conditions
The torrential rains made many roads in the region impassable. Dramatic video from the Roganville Volunteer Fire Department showed floodwaters entering the cab of a fire truck during a water rescue, with levels reaching up to the firefighters’ laps.
Needless to say, he was a little bit shaken up, a firefighter said of the man they had just rescued from a submerged vehicle.
The dangerous conditions and rising floodwaters left the fire truck itself stuck, as they waited for a front-end loader to push them out so they could continue water rescues.
More Severe Weather Expected
As residents of Kirbyville and surrounding areas grapple with the flash flooding aftermath, more rounds of severe weather are expected to impact the region through Thursday.
The FOX Forecast Center warns that repeated rounds of storms capable of torrential rain will continue to roll through the Southeast, renewing the risk of dangerous flash flooding.
With the ground already saturated and many areas having received 5-8 inches of rain above average this year, the flooding threat remains high.
Residents are urged to stay alert to rapidly changing conditions, heed any evacuation orders, and avoid attempting to drive through floodwaters.
As Mayor George noted, rescue efforts will continue as long as water levels keep rising in the battered community.
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