Record floods hit US state of Texas again

Days of heavy rain have brought another round of severe floods to parts of the US state of Texas.

Residents across the southeast of the state are braced for yet more flooding, with the rain set to continue for a few more days.

Large areas across many communities to the southwest of Houston are under water. Mandatory evacuations have been put in place and at least nine people have died in the worst floods in more than 100 years.

According to the National Weather Service (NWS), the swollen Brazos River reached its highest level on record on Tuesday when it touched 16.5 metres in Richmond, Fort Bend County, Texas.

This is almost 1.2 metres above the previous record set in 1994, when the region suffered major flood damage. Only two years ago, the river had run dry in places because of a severe drought.

Charles Roeseler, NWS meteorologist, said the river was yet to crest and was expected to slowly rise even more. About 120 rescues have been carried out in Fort Bend County alone.

Local authorities said that the storm system dumped around 560mm of rain in just a few hours. Much of the town of Simonton – 80km west of Houston – is under a mandatory evacuation order as the river continues to rise, threatening lives and property.

Around 40 people were rescued from low-lying areas in the town on Sunday and Monday.

Thundery showers remain in the forecast right into this coming weekend across much of central Texas.