3 dead, including 5-year-old boy, as Texas flooding eases: 'We are out of the woods now'
After days of severe flooding throughout the South, Harris County, Texas Judge Lina Hidalgo said that Harris County is "out of the woods now."
The flooding easing up comes after three people, two adults and one child, died in Texas as a result of the storm, Texas Governor Greg Abbott confirmed in a press conference Monday.
Abbott said that a total of 91 counties in Texas have been impacted by the storm, which is more than a third of all Texas counties.
Although the bulk of the storm has subsided, Abbott cautioned residents that river levels will rise in the coming days.
On Sunday, a 5-year-old boy was found dead in Johnson County, Texas, according to officials.
Emergency management officials said they got a call for a vehicle stuck in swift-moving water at 1:53 a.m. local time on Sunday.
The vehicle was occupied by two adults, one male and one female, and a 5-year-old male who attempted to leave the vehicle to get to dry ground on foot when they were swept into the flood waters, officials said.
The two adults were both rescued around 5:00 a.m. Sunday and transported to a local hospital, while the 5-year-old was found dead in the water around 7:20 a.m., officials said.
In Conroe, Texas, a police officer from the Conroe Police Department, Lt. James "Jimmy" Waller, died on Friday from injuries from a tornado that formed from the storm.
Abbott said Waller was caught in a confirmed EF-1 tornado which the National Weather Service said had 100 mph winds.
The third death in Texas was in Bosque County. Abbott confirmed an adult man was swept away due to rushing waters in the flood.
In Harris County, Hidalgo said Monday that, in total, 233 people and 186 pets were rescued by Harris County authorities during the rainstorm.
Hidalgo said residents can expect to "see the light at the end of the tunnel," as looking forward, there are no major threats from the rain.
Hidalgo lifted the mandatory evacuation order Monday, saying that it is now OK for people to go home.
Across parts of the country, the first scorching heat wave of the year could happen by the middle of the week as temperatures across much of the south are expected to jump into the 90s and 100s.
