Kingwood: Flooding causes sinkhole; multiple school closures

KINGWOOD, Texas – The Kingwood area was hit by some of the region's worst weather Tuesday.

The area was soaked with over 10 inches Tuesday.

New Caney Independent School District said closed its campuses Wednesday as a result of Tuesday's weather. Some students had to stay at the campus overnight.

Cleveland ISD, Splendora ISD and Huffman ISD closed all of its campuses Wednesday.

Houston Search and Rescue teams took about 35 people who were in need of shelter to a Red Cross location at First Baptist Church at 3500 Woodland Hills Drive.

Multiple roads were flooded and severe thunderstorm warnings were issued as the storms moved through. 

Elm Grove Village didn't flood during Hurricane Harvey, but did when the area got nearly two feet of water Tuesday.

Homeowners spent much of Wednesday pulling up carpet and ripping out sheetrock.

"The water kept rising, kept rising, kept rising, and finally, my husband said, 'Let's start moving things up to the second story.' We watched it come in and it came in from all sides," Anne Trapani said.

St. Martha Catholic school was also flooded. The Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston said it will be closed until further notice.

Kingwood parents had to walk through high water to get their children out of Kids in Action daycare, located off Woodland Hills. The daycare told KPRC2 that about 40 children were on the second floor until their parents were able to get to them.

Here's how to check bayou levels, rainfall totals

Residents in a Kingwood neighborhood were trapped due to a sinkhole on Hamblem Road at Northshore.

The major thoroughfare in Forest Cove became a road less traveled due to the sinkhole.

City crews replaced the ruptured water main and CenterPoint crews repaired a ruptured gas line. Officials said it could take two months to repair the hole.

"It's one of the major east-west roads we have in Kingwood besides Kingwood Drive and North Park Drive," Councilman Dave Martin said.

Click here to check rainfall totals in your area.

Around 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, a severe thunderstorm moved through the area going northeast at about 25 mph. Weather officials said wind gusts of up to 60 mph and quarter-sized hail were possible with the storm.

PHOTOS: High water, flooding across Houston area

A flood warning was issued for the West Fork of the San Jacinto River until Wednesday afternoon. The river was forecasted to rise above flood stage by Tuesday night. Alert Houston told people in the area to avoid the river.

Authorities encouraged drivers to turn around if they encounter flooded roads and to report flooded areas to local law enforcement agencies.

Showers and thunderstorms continued through Tuesday night and into Wednesday.

An approaching cold front will set the stage for additional strong thunderstorms on Friday and Saturday.

On Tuesday, Humble Independent School District officials said that Kingwood High School students who are usually released early were kept at the school until the roads were deemed safe. Officials said the intersection of West Lake Houston Parkway and Kingwood Drive was not passable as of 1:15 p.m. Tuesday, but the building was secure.

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said during a City Council meeting Tuesday afternoon that high-water rescue vehicles were being dispatched to the Kingwood area.

Humble ISD officials said no water made it inside Kingwood High School on Tuesday.

Last week, water made it inside the school, but school officials said the storm drains were cleaned over the weekend.

Some video showed flooding outside Kingwood Park High School.

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Track the rain with the interactive radar on the weather page.

Get the latest forecast on the weather page.

More photos and video:

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner on high-water vehicles deployed to Kingwood