An East Texas woman and her four grandchildren were found dead after a flash flood caused by more torrential rains in an already water-logged region.
The 64-year-old grandmother was apparently attempting to escape the rapidly rising flood waters with her four grandchildren. The flooding was caused by yet another massive Texas rainfall. Police found the five bodies in the front yard of a residence in Palestine, Texas, KLTV ABC7 in Longview reported.
The Palestine Police Department began receiving emergency calls shortly after midnight Saturday morning that one particular street was flooding and waters were reaching the roofline of a home.
Firefighters and public works employees responded with fire trucks and dump trucks to attempt to rescue the victims in the neighborhood. One man was rescued from a rooftop by one of the first responders, the Associated Press reported.
The East Texas ABC affiliate reported that about 3:45 a.m., more emergency calls were received about a family missing from the neighborhood. First responders conducted a search of the area in waist-deep water and found what they believed to be the bodies of two young children.
The search continued and rescuers found the bodies of two additional children and an adult female.
It appears the family had been swept away by the rapidly moving flood waters.
In addition to the 64-year-old grandmother, the grandchildren’s ages were reported to be 9, 8, 7, and 6. Their identities have not yet been released pending notification of family members.
Palestine is located in East Texas about halfway between Dallas and Houston.
Massive flooding also hit the state’s largest county earlier this month and claimed several lives due to flooded roadways, Breitbart Texas reported. Traffic cameras revealed one tragic case where a young woman drove around a barrier and into a flooded underpass. She could be seen struggling in the car before the vehicle submerged and she drowned.
The rainfall on Friday night and Saturday morning brought more flooding to a region of the state where rivers and water storage areas are already at their maximum capacity due to this month’s heaving rains.
This most recent band of rain is currently moving out of Texas and into Louisiana.
Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior political news contributor for Breitbart Texas and is a member of the original Breitbart Texas team. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.