Coast Guard rescues people stranded by Beaumont floodwaters

BEAUMONT, Texas – Thursday's storms left much of Beaumont underwater.

The Southeast Texas town about 90 miles east of Houston received as much as 30 inches of rain, leading to water covering roads and flooding homes.

The Coast Guard deployed rescue crews, and officials said the Marine Safety Unit from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, has helped rescue 21 people and five pets. Crews from Air Station Houston and Air Station New Orleans have flown nine people out of the floodwaters.

KPRC 2's Mario Diaz said people with high-profile vehicles have been arriving in low-lying neighborhoods to help evacuate people from their flooded homes. In one case, a woman in a wheelchair had to be carried through the water and loaded into the back of a pickup.

People could be seen carrying plastic bags of belongings out of flooded neighborhoods.

Video posted on social media showed some people jumping from a bridge and into the floodwaters near Lamar University.

At one point, officials had to shut down Interstate 10, the main east-to-west thoroughfare, because of the rising water. Traffic was backed up for miles.


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