FLOOD HELL
Aerial footage of devastating Texas floods with boy, 4, killed after his family’s car was swept away & hundreds rescued
Floods battered the state across the weekend
A FOUR-YEAR-OLD boy has tragically died after he was swept away by floodwaters.
Shocking aerial footage revealed the extent of the damage caused by the extreme weather across Texas.
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The rain came crashing down on Saturday resulting in waist-high water and evacuations for locals.
According to authorities, one witness described how a man, a woman, and the child attempted to remove themselves from a vehicle wedged in the flood in Burleson, North Texas, on Sunday morning.
The man and woman were rescued and rushed to a local hospital.
Two hours later, four-year-old Lucas Warren was identified following hours of searching the high waters.
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Mom Chelsey Warren was visiting family with her husband and Lucas on Saturday evening and were driving back in the early hours of Sunday morning.
“Usually, there’s a block in the road that says don’t pass through there or has a sign that says flooding water, please turn around, and there was nothing,” Chelsey said.
“I had saw somebody else had gone through.”
After driving through the rising waters, the car eventually became stuck.
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She continued: "My car battery died, and then the car started filling up with water, so we grabbed Lucas out of his car seat."
Chelsey held Lucas' head above the current for an hour until he no longer could.
Moment truck drives directly into flood water - a deadly danger was completely hidden from the road
She added: "And a current came up real high, and he just let go.
“And I didn’t hear anything from him. I think he just went under.
“Then the sheriff showed up here and told me they found him.
“And that he looked really peaceful and that all of his clothes weren’t ripped. He looks like he just went to sleep.”
The bereaved mom said she has been struggling to cope with Lucas' tragic passing.
She said: “He’s the best.
“He’s such a bright, sweet, amazing, amazing boy.
“He’s my everything.
“I can’t sleep without him, I can’t, I do everything with him.”
“Nothing’s ever going to bring Lucas back. Nothing’s ever going to fill that hole.
“But if I can have some time to process and not worry about how we’re going to keep our house, I know we’ll be okay at some point.”
Hours after being launched, a GoFundMe for the family had raised more than $17,000.
LENGTHY EVACUATION
People living in low-level homes were instructed to evacuate as early as Friday, while people along the San Jacinto River were issued a mandatory evacuation order on Thursday.
"A lull in heavy rain is expected through [Saturday] evening," according to the National Weather Service.
"The next round of heavy rainfall is expected late [Saturday] into Sunday."
Resident Miguel Flores Senior measured the San Jacinto River water that flooded his backyard on both Friday and Saturday.
On Friday, the water was at about a foot, but by the following day, it was already at four feet.
"It’s sad, but what can I do," Flores said, affirming that he has flood insurance.
The rain has affected Texas and parts of Louisiana for the past few weeks.
Torrential downpours have left cars partially submerged, schools and roads closed, and almost fully covered houses.
The weather service reported that the river was almost 74 feet late Saturday morning after reaching nearly 78 feet.
"This threat is ongoing and it’s going to get worse. It is not your typical river flood," said Hidalgo, according to The Guardian.
She described the flooding as “catastrophic."
In the city of Liberty County, about 30 miles northeast of Houston, more than 21 inches fell over a five-day period through Friday, according to the National Weather Service.
On Saturday, 179 people and 122 pets were rescued in the county, according to Hidalgo.
In the past few days, over 100 water rescues have been performed in Montgomery County as well.
Houston officials have not reported any deaths or injuries caused by the flooding.
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"It’s been really sad to see the impact of people’s livelihoods, homes, infrastructure as well as just the public infrastructure," Hidalgo told CNN.
"We’re really asking folks to give it a minute before they go back home."
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