Texas flooding triggers evacuations in parts of Houston after freakish downpours

Heavy storms hit Houston again today, leaving drivers stranded and a school bus of children in need of high-water rescues due to floods.

The latest downpour has further increased dangerous flooding fears in Texas. 

As a result of today's flooding, officials have redoubled efforts and warnings asking residents in low-lying areas to evacuate, worrying that the worst was still to come.

Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo cautioned: 'This threat is ongoing and it's going to get worse. It is not your typical river flood.'

She further described the surge of water as 'catastrophic' and said several hundred structures were at risk of flooding. 

As of now, authorities have already conducted at least two dozen water rescues in the county, in addition to getting 30 pets to safety. 

Schools in the path of the flooding have canceled classes and roads remain jammed as officials have closed highways. Authorities have yet not reported any deaths or injuries.

Conroe firefighter Cody Leroy carries a resident evacuated in a boat by the CFD Rapid Intervention Team from her flooded home in the aftermath of a severe storm

Emergency workers with Caney Creek Fire and Rescue carry a dog from a flooded area 

A man carries his dogs rescued by boat from his home by Caney Creek Fire and Rescue on River Plantation Drive

For weeks, drenching rains in Texas and parts of Louisiana have filled reservoirs and completely saturated the ground. 

Floodwaters began partially submerged cars and roads this week across parts of southeastern Texas, north of Houston, where high waters reached the roofs of some homes.

In the rural community of Shepherd, Gilroy Fernandes said he and his spouse had about an hour to evacuate after a mandatory order. Their home is on stilts near the Trinity River, and they felt relief when the water began to recede on Thursday but things  worsened overnight. 

'Next thing you know, overnight they started releasing more water from the dam at Livingston. And so that caused the level of the river to shoot up by almost five or six feet overnight,' Fernandes said. 

Neighbors who left an hour later got stuck in traffic because of the flooding.

Montgomery County Judge Mark Keough claims there have been more high-water rescues than he was able to count.

'We estimate we've had a couple hundred rescues from homes, from houses, from vehicles,' Keough said.

A woman is rescued by airboat from her home by Montgomery County Sheriff's Office deputies

Family members survey the damage after a tree fell on the home of Monica Ramirez during a severe storm

A child in a car seat is taken out of a boat as residents are evacuated by boat from their homes by Montgomery County Sheriff's Office deputies

More than nine inches of rain has fell over the county in the last 24 hours, according to the National Weather Service.

In Crosby, school officials said the driver of a school bus carrying 27 students stopped his vehicle just before driving into high water Friday. 

The students were forced to exit through a rear door and were taken to campuses on another bus.

Later, Crosby school district Superintendent Paula Patterson said: 'I am proud of the quick action of our bus driver'.

Of particular concern was an area along the San Jacinto River, on the eastern part of the county, which was expected to continue rising as more rain falls and officials release extra water from an already full reservoir. 

A pickup truck maneuvers a residential street filled with water in Woodloch

A woman is handed her child after being evacuated by boat from her homes with the help of deputies with the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office

Hidalgo officials have issued a mandatory evacuation order for those living along portions of the river.

The county has also warned others who live along the river in southern portions of Hidalgo that they could be stranded for days if they remain in their homes. 

As a result, shelters have been opened across the region, including nine by the American Red Cross.

In the city of Conroe, just north of Houston, rescuers are driving boats into neighborhood subdivisions to rescue people and pets from their homes, then carrying them from the boats to higher ground. 

In nearby Livingston, neighborhoods were flooded, with water rising to the windshields of moving vans and above the bottom of windows of some buildings.

A woman reacts as she and others are evacuated by boat from their homes by Montgomery County Sheriff's Office deputies

A helicopter flies above the San Jacinto River, which rose out of its banks in the aftermath of a severe storm

Storms over the past month in southeast Texas and parts of Louisiana have dumped more than 2 feet (61 centimeters) of rain in some areas, according to the National Weather Service.

The greater Houston area covers about 10,000 square miles - a footprint slightly bigger than New Jersey. 

It is crisscrossed by about 1,700 miles of channels, creeks and bayous that drain into the Gulf of Mexico, about 50 miles to the southeast from downtown.

The city's system of bayous and reservoirs was built to drain heavy rains. But engineering initially designed nearly 100 years ago has struggled to keep up with the city's growth and bigger storms.