'It's bad': Some places waterlogged after nearly 10 inches of rain

HOUSTON – Heavy rain pounded southeast Texas, leaving some places underwater and making some roads impassable.

A flash flood watch is in effect until 10 p.m. for much of southeast Texas. At least two flash flood warnings have been issued for areas southwest of Houston, where as much an estimated 10 inches rain has fallen. 

Here’s a look at where some of the heaviest rain has fallen and the results.

Wharton County

One of the hardest-hit areas was Wharton County, where radar estimates showed at least 10 inches of rain fell along the State Highway 60 corridor between the Colorado River and Water Hole Creek.

“A mess, waterlogged,” said Dick Wozniak, owner of Wharton Tractor Company, which has sat along Highway 60 for 75 years. “It’s bad.”

Wozniak said his store has flooded at least four times in the past 20 years. He said he tried to stop the foot of water that rushed into his store Wednesday but soon realized it was a losing battle.

“After a while, you realize you can’t stop it,” Wozniak said. "We’re just waiting for the water to recede. There’s nothing really we can do but pick up from the ground up.”

The rain finally ended about 11 a.m., which is allowing the water to slowly drain.

Officials were asking residents of Wharton to reduce their water usage so they can reduce the amount of water going into the city's sewer system.

Fort Bend County

In the town of Kendleton, as much as 10 inches of rain is estimated to have fallen in the span of just a few hours.

Some homes near Guess Avenue and F.M. Road 2919 had water inside, while others had water creeping close to doorways. Several inches of water covered roads in the neighborhood.

One woman who has lived in the area for 47 years said she has never seen the water this high.

Houston

One of the hardest-hit areas in Houston was on the west side, where as much as 3 inches of rain was estimated to have fallen Wednesday morning.

The ramp from the Southwest Freeway to the West Loop was under several inches of water during the morning commute, which only allowed a single lane of traffic to get through. A sign on the road that warned drivers of possible flooding was itself covered by water.

Several crashes and a jackknifed tractor-trailer doubled or even tripled the commute time for some drivers. 

Houston firefighters said high-water vehicles were on standby in case drivers became stranded in the rising water, but they had not responded to any such calls Wednesday morning.