Texas residents were under threat earlier this week following excessive rain and flash flood warnings resulting from heavy precipitation.
On Monday, rainfall broke an 83-year-old daily record by almost an inch. Texas residents have been posting scary videos in the wake of the deluge showcasing water rising toward their vehicles and homes.
Record Shattered
On September 2, the National Weather Service (NWS) documented a record being broken in Galveston that was set in 1941.
“As of 140pm, Galveston recorded 5.53″ of rainfall today. While light rain is still ongoing and totals will be higher by the end of the day, this will be a new record rainfall for Sept 2nd. The old record of 4.64″ was previously set in 1941,” wrote NWS Houston on X.
Vehicles Threatened
KSAT 12 reported on the rising waters that were documented in a harrowing video taken in San Antonio.
“A KSAT viewer was driving down north of New Braunfels Avenue near the McNay Museum when he got into trouble with water up to the windows of the vehicle and was swept away. San Antonio Fire Department helped him get out of the vehicle, who is now safe,” the news agency said in an X post.
Bad Conditions
Some users under the post criticized the driver for deciding to operate a vehicle in those conditions.
“Why [would] you drive in water that high. Dude is about to get a hefty fine,” wrote an X user. “What a scary and avoidable situation. Glad it all ended well,” said another user.
Surrounding Homes
Videos online showcased the extent of the flooding in central Texas where precipitous rain caused homes to be surrounded by water.
“Floodwaters surrounded homes in central Texas as several inches of rain fell in parts of the Lone Star State,” said an X post by AccuWeather.
New Hourly Record
NWS in Tampa Bay recorded another record being broken from the massive outpouring of rain.
“If you’re thinking it’s been rather wet around Tampa the last couple of days, then you would be correct. In fact, during 1 hour yesterday TPA recorded 3.80 inches of rain setting a New Hourly Rainfall Record, and today there was 2.63 inches in 1 hour coming in at #6,” NWS Tampa Bay wrote in a September 4 X post.
Insurance for Damages
This latest rainfall incident has emphasized the importance of flood insurance for some residents as vehicles and homes were overrun by water.
However, not every resident can afford to maintain, flood insurance, especially in high-risk areas, known as flood zones.
What is a Flood Zone?
As its name suggests, a flood zone is an area that has excessive flooding due to environmental conditions.
“A flood zone is a geographic area that FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) has determined or defined as an area that’s prone to flooding,” said Blanca Nieto, the agency owner of the Blanca Nieto Goosehead Insurance Agency. “There are different types of flood zones, from moderate to low risk.”
Affording Insurance
As increasing weather events threaten Texas residents, the cost to insure property in the state has been dramatically increasing.
According to Insurance Business America, the average policy cost for flood insurance in Texas has risen from $775 to $1,400 in just a few years.
Texans Forgoing Insurance
Because of this spike in prices, the number of flood insurance policies in the state has decreased by nearly 17% since 2021. Without insurance, residents will have a much more difficult time recovering from record-breaking rains and floods.
“This is particularly alarming given the high activity expected for this year’s hurricane season,” said Madison Sloan, director of disaster recovery at Texas Appleseed, an advocacy organization.
More to Come
While residents in Texas are still drenched from the recent outpouring, the National Hurricane Center is tracking 5 seperate tropical waves in the Atlantic Ocean.
These Atlantic systems have between a 10% and 30% chance of developing into threats over the next seven days.
Heavy Rainfall Expected
In an early morning September 5 X post, the National Hurricane Center asserted that even if systems threatening the Texas coast don’t develop, “heavy rainfall” is still expected “during the next day or so.”
The movements in the ocean will likely spread more showers and thunderstorms to the coasts of Texas and Louisiana in the coming days.
