The first tropical storm of the season brought weather chaos to the United States as summer nears.
Severe weather is pounding the Midwest, with tornadoes sighted in parts of Illinois.
Meanwhile, down on the Gulf Coast, the season’s first tropical storm came ashore on Wednesday. Tropical Storm Arthur lost some strength as it moved inland along the Texas and Louisiana border, but it’s not done yet.
Folks are bracing as it dumps buckets of rain, and flooding is quickly becoming the biggest worry. Forecasters say parts of the region could see up to 20 inches of rain, and in some areas, there are reports of it falling at a rate of 1 inch every 15 minutes.
On Wednesday, New Orleans Homeland Security Chief Darrick Hesson warned that the biggest danger is flash flooding and damage from high winds. “In addition to the flooding threat, a few strong storms could be capable of producing damaging wind gusts of up to 60 miles per hour and a few tornadoes,” he explained.
With memories of Hurricane Katrina’s devastation still on their minds, New Orleans Mayor Helena Moreno urged the people of her city to be prepared and stay alert. “We’ll see what comes our way, but whatever comes our way, we’ll be ready to deal with it.”
Even before Tropical Storm Arthur started heading toward Texas and Louisiana, days of heavy rain had already caused chaos across parts of Texas.
In Magnolia, rescuers found the body of a 15-year-old who drowned after being caught in a retention pond.
Over in Waco, first responders have been working around the clock, pulling at least 20 people to safety from sudden flash floods.
Among those rescued was Chris Cureton. “All of a sudden, when I was driving, another rush of water came, uh, came and kind of hit me. It kind of rose up within two minutes, 60 seconds to two minutes,” Cureton explained.
With firefighters unable to reach Cureton, he held on for life until a boat from Texas A&M Task Force One came to the rescue.
Texas One rescuer Jordan Wallace recalled, “It was extremely difficult. They were able to drive their boat, maneuvering through trees and dodging debris, and get over to Chris. And Chris was able to jump into the boat.”
So far, at least three people have lost their lives as a result of Arthur, all in the state of Texas.
