Storms flood Texas highway, strand vehicles
Hundreds of motorists including several big rig drivers were stranded in high water flooding Monday throughout the Houston area when a cluster of severe storms dumped several inches of rain, causing roads to flood and some vehicles to become fully submerged.
Worst hit, according to KHOU News, was Highway 288 near the South loop where more than a dozen drivers were trapped in their vehicles in about 4 ft. of flood water. The highway was closed in both directions and several vehicles were fully submerged by the flooding.
Tia Ariaga told reporters her black Dodge Charger got stuck in the southbound lanes, trapping her and her young son. A news reporter covering the floods, KHOU 11 News Anchor Kevin Reece, waked them across the South Loop exit and to the safety of a frontage road.
“(It) was very scary, especially when I have the little one with me, you don’t know whether to stay in the car because you don’t know whether your car’s going to be swept away in the water,” Ariaga said.
Ariaga said she knew it was time to get out of the car once the water was at window-level.
Most of the stranded drivers had to wait for the water to go down on Highway 288 before tow trucks could haul them away.
