HOUSTON (USA TODAY) — At least two people have died and 30 are unaccounted for in severe flooding in Central Texas on Tuesday. High water and flooding made many of Houston's roads impassable, which prompted many officials to urge residents to stay home.
In Wimberley, Texas, residents and officials faced an unprecedented wall of water over the weekend during flash floods that crushed homes and swept away families.
Rescue crews Tuesday continued searching the full length of the Blanco River for 30 people who remain missing, including a family of eight vacationing in a single home. There have been two confirmed deaths.
A record surge 44 feet high sped down the Blanco River late Sunday, demolishing homes and businesses, Hays County Commissioner Will Conley said. The previous record on the river was 32 feet, recorded in 1926.
"It was literally a large wall of water that came down the Blanco River and destroyed everything in its path," he said.
In Houston, rains Tuesday dumped almost another foot of rain.
The fourth-largest city in the USA suffered some of its worst flooding in years as much of the city and its freeway system were under water.
Torrential rains sent Houston bayous out of their banks overnight, flooding hundreds of homes and stranding thousands of drivers.
VIDEO: Aerials show extent of historic Texas floods
Houston firefighters reported they were called to more than 500 water-related rescues.
The dead Tuesday were in the Houston area. One victim was found in a car in southwest Houston. Another victim was pulled from Brays Bayou, in southeast Houston. Brays Bayou is a watershed that is located in southwest Harris County and portions of Fort Bend County.
Both victims were women. Two more in the Houston area are missing.
On Interstate 10, one of Houston's busiest freeways, a trip that is usually a five-minute drive to downtown, was virtually impassable.
The heavy rain caused a traffic nightmare with miles of stuck cars. Some people either slept in their cars or abandoned them. Some drivers also had to contend with water inside their vehicles.
Emergency officials spent the overnight hours rescuing hundreds of stranded drivers.
A flash flood watch remains in effect for Fort Bend and Harris counties until 6 p.m. Central.
In a tweet to USA TODAY, Titus Chow, who lives on Bays Bayou, took a photo of a helicopter circling to pull a body from the bayou. Chow said the photo was taken near the University of Houston.
Harris County Flood District advised residents not to leave their homes Tuesday, while about 20 school districts announced closures or delays because of the severe flooding.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott declared disasters in 37 counties, allowing for further mobilization of state resources to assist.
GALLERY: Severe storms pound Texas
"It's absolutely massive," Abbott said after touring the destruction.
President Obama told reporters that he spoke with Abbott about the flooding in that state, and pledged federal assistance for rescue and recovery.
A funnel cloud was reported in West Houston on Monday evening, but most of the damage reported as of early Tuesday was a result of street flooding. Views from Houston TranStar, the city's transportation and emergency management center, showed hundreds of stalled vehicles.
On Monday, a tornado tore through a Central Texas town Monday, destroying four homes and leaving at least one person dead. Milam County Judge Dave Barkemeyer said the storm hit a subdivision about 60 miles northeast of Austin.
VIDEO: Possible tornado whips through rural Texas towns
Search and rescue teams resumed the search for the 12 missing Tuesday.
Family members said eight of the 12 at the Wimberley vacation home came in from Corpus Christi for Memorial Day weekend. Their river home got knocked off its foundation by a wall of water.
VIDEO: Deadly flood sweeps away family: 'We know they're gone'
"I think recognizing with what's happening with the weather, we all know and we have accepted that they're gone," said Julie Shields, whose sister is still missing after the flooding.
Shields said her sister, Laura McComb, and her two children, 6-year-old Andrew and 4-year-old Leighton, are among those missing.
"My sister and I had been texting and talking throughout the night and she had told me around 11:00 that water had started coming in," Shields said.
But Shields said her sister didn't realize how bad it would get until too late.
"1:00 in the morning she called me she said 'I'm in a house. I'm floating down the river. Tell mom and dad, 'I love you,' and pray,'" Shields said.
Crews rescued Laura's husband, Jonathan, from the river bank. He's recovering in a San Antonio hospital with a broken sternum, broken rib and a collapsed lung.
"He is absolutely devastated. He did everything he possibly could to save them," Shields said. "What happened was the house slammed into a bridge and the house broke in two and they had all been in the house together holding hands but when the house hit the bridge and it separated, he got separated from everyone else."
An estimated 350 to 400 homes were destroyed in Wimberley, and about 1,000 homes were damaged throughout Hays County.
The severe weather is also causing concern in Willis, Texas, where the Lewis Creek Dam is reportedly growing weaker as the flood waters continue to rise. Some residents near the dam just moved back into their homes after a mandatory evacuation was lifted Sunday night. Officials say the Lewis Creek Dam is holding, as it is reinforced with 8,000 tons of limestone and 7,500 sandbags.
More severe storms are forecast to hit Oklahoma and Texas, bringing with them more rain, hail and tornadoes.
Four people have now been confirmed killed in the deadly storms in Texas, while two more died in Oklahoma.
The Mexican city of Ciudad Acuna was devastated by a twister at daybreak Monday.
Officials in Mexico said at least 13 were killed in the tornado, the Associated Press reported. The city, population 100,000, is across the border from Del Rio, Texas.
Contributing: Rick Jervis, William Cummings and David Jackson, USA TODAY; Shannon Murray, KVUE-TV, Austin; The Associated Press.
