Austin Emergency Crews Deployed To Flooded Southeast Texas

AUSTIN, TX — Austin-Travis County EMS has deployed seven of its crew members to southeast Texas to assist with rescue efforts resulting from devastating flooding spawned by Tropical Storm Imelda, officials said late Thursday.

Among the personnel being sent to the the flooded region are one ambulance strike team leader, two ambulance crews and another pair of boat operators. The EMS team will join their counterparts with the Austin Fire Department in deployment to the flooded region, officials said.

For its part, the Austin Fire Department early Thursday deployed six of its personnel comprising a swift water rescue boat team Huntsville, Texas, fire officials said. The AFD crew joins two other fire department members deployed to the region earlier this week, officials added.

"They’ll be dealing with Tropical Storm Imelda," officials wrote just after 9 a.m. on Thursday. "She's stalled out and up to 20 inches of additional rainfall is expected."

Gov. Greg Abbott contributed to the aim of quick rescue in the flooded part of the state by directing the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation to waive rules relating to out-of-state towing vehicles, his office announced Thursday. With current flooding and rainfall, vehicles throughout the Houston and Beaumont areas have been stranded and require towing, the governor explained. By waiving these regulations, first responders will be able to move more quickly in recovering these vehicles and limiting damage to them, he added.

“This order will ensure our communities have the resources they need to tow vehicles quickly and mitigate damage and danger for those in the storm’s path,” Abbott said in a prepared statement. “My office will continue to engage with local officials to ensure they have the resources and capabilities they need to respond to Imelda as quickly as possible.”

Abbott on Thursday also declared a state of disaster for multiple counties ravaged by the powerful storm — among them Brazoria, Chambers, Galveston, Hardin, Harris, Jasper, Jefferson, Liberty, Matagorda, Montgomery, Newton, Orange and San Jacinto — in a move designed to ease flood victims' access to state resources.

The governor also directed certain rescue deployments to the flood-ravaged region that has seen severe flooding in Houston and surrounding communities two days after Imelda made landfall along the Texas coast.

The storm's potency prompted the National Weather Service to issue a civil emergency message in conveying the massive scope of flash flooding across northeast Chambers, Harris, Liberty and Montgomery counties. Attendant to that civil emergency alert was strong urging by officials for residents to shelter in place. Drivers were strongly advised to avoid the most flood-ravaged areas of the region, and those already trapped in their home amid high water were asked to contact emergency personnel for rescue.

"More than two feet of rain has fallen across southeast Texas since Imelda made landfall, the Weather Channel reported, with several spots hit with more than 40 inches of rainfall. The result has been catastrophic flooding that has prompted mass evacuations, with even more rain predicted to fall in the coming days.