San Antonio and the surrounding counties along rain-swollen rivers were bracing Sunday for the possibility of more flooding amid storm predictions.
The National Weather Service issued a flash flood watch for seven counties until 6 p.m. Sunday, saying thunderstorms could produce rainfall at a rate of 2 to 4 inches per hour. Flood warnings remained in effect for several rivers already well above the flood stage.
Two women died Saturday after being swept away by floodwaters after weekend rains deluged numerous roads in San Antonio. One teenage boy also was reported missing after he tried to cross the swollen Cibolo Creek in the San Antonio suburb of Schertz, authorities said. The search resumed for him Sunday.
About 20 people were at a shelter set up by the American Red Cross on Sunday, including some whose apartment complex roof caved in under the weight of the heavy rainfall.
Roxanne DeLeon arrived there Sunday with her 18-month-old son, 6-year-old daughter, 15-year-old daughter and husband — most of them wearing no shoes because they had barely escaped their rented house amid rising floodwaters.
DeLeon said they spent the night on the floor of a relative’s home because family members don’t have enough room for all of them, and their insurance agent cannot provide help that would get them into a motel or apartment until after Memorial Day.
“It feels like we’re stuck,” DeLeon said Sunday. “One relative can keep my son part of the day while I’m at work, but who’s going to pick up my kids from school? I never thought my family would go through something like this.”
Some people followed an evacuation directive and left their homes in Wilson County along the San Antonio River about 20 miles southeast of the city near Elmendorf. But the directive was lifted Sunday after the river crested to about 52 feet — 10 feet lower than predicted but still well above the flood stage of 35 feet, the National Weather Service said.
In some parts of the San Antonio area, 10 feet of water covered the roads Saturday.
Authorities did not immediately identify the women who died.
One became trapped in her car Saturday and climbed to the roof before being swept away in floodwaters, said San Antonio Fire Department spokesman Christian Bove. Her body was later found against a fence, he said. Emergency officials also recovered the body of a woman in her 60s, whose car was carried away by water as firefighters were trying to rescue her.
In the city, even a municipal bus was swept away, but firefighters on a boat were able to pluck the three passengers and driver to safety, public transit spokeswoman Priscilla Ingle said. No one was injured.
The San Antonio International Airport by Saturday afternoon had recorded 9.87 inches of rain since midnight.
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