Tropical storm Beta makes landfall in Texas, floods Houston area

"The water is going down and we will be assessing the damage as soon as possible." Beta made landfall late Monday as a tropical storm just north of Port O'Connor on the southern end of the Matagorda Peninsula, about 110 miles southwest of Houston. As the storm headed toward shore, the US Coast Guard rescued a man onboard a disabled 20-foot vessel, two miles south of the Port Aransas Jetties, east of Corpus Christi.

Tropical storm Beta caused major flooding in Houston area after making landfall in the upper Texas coast in US on late Monday. Five to nearly 11 inches of rain lashed Houston and Galveston overnight as Beta wobbled ashore.

Streets, cars and buildings were flooded in parts of coastal Texas, including Rockport, Corpus Christi, Galveston and the Bolivar Peninsula. Some subdivisions in Surfside Beach that flooded on Sunday night were still under water on Tuesday. "We fared well, better than the night before," Police Chief Gary Phillips said. "The water is going down and we will be assessing the damage as soon as possible." Beta made landfall late Monday as a tropical storm just north of Port O'Connor on the southern end of the Matagorda Peninsula, about 110 miles southwest of Houston.

As the storm headed toward shore, the US Coast Guard rescued a man onboard a disabled 20-foot vessel, two miles south of the Port Aransas Jetties, east of Corpus Christi. The man was taken to the Mustang Beach Airport in Port Aransas. Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued disaster declarations for 29 counties on Monday. Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards also declared a state of emergency, saying those impacted last month by Hurricane Laura should remain especially vigilant.

Harris County Meteorologist Jeff Lindner on Tuesday said, "We will have to closely watch the impacts from Beta throughout the day and overnight into Wednesday mid-day because the grounds are already very saturated. Heavier rainfall could eventually pick up north of Houston, creating roadway problems there as well." Dozens of streets and highways were closed by fast-rising water and with heavy rains projected to continue over portions of the state's middle and upper coast. City officials in Houston urged residents to stay home and avoid driving if possible. Several people had to abandon cars that stalled in the high waters around the city after heavy rains swamped parts of southwest Houston. Many were evacuated from flooded areas by the High Water Rescue team. Beta is expected to stall inland over Texas through Wednesday and will move over Louisiana and Mississippi on Wednesday night through Friday. Over the past 48 hours, more than a foot of rain has fallen in some areas and more is expected.

Districts across southeast Texas closed schools and pushed classes online or canceled them altogether.

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