By Chris Edwards
[email protected]
TYLER COUNTY – Once again, stormy weather affected the region, over the weekend. Although severe weather, from a line of storms on Monday evening, took a southern turn, the area, as a whole still received a great deal of rain during Sunday and into Monday morning.
“We were blessed that the line of storms took a southern turn and did not come through Tyler County. This is why we must stay prepared and alert. Pray for our neighbors as we face our own flooding issues,” said Tyler County Emergency Management Coordinator John Settlocker.
Those severe storms, which developed along the Sabine River, turned to tornadoes in the Lake Charles area. According to a post on social media from meteorologist Greg Bostwick, the tornado was in the Sulphur area, with another around Westlake.
The events resulted in widespread wind damage from Lake Charles to beyond Lafayette, and more than 60,000 Louisiana residents without power. Bostwick posted that Southeast Texas was “very fortunate” in that the storms bypassed the region.
According to forecasts, this week, although with a reprieve of a few days from rainfall, will see a high chance of thunderstorms on Thursday, with a diminished chance on Friday. The Sunday-Monday storms saw anywhere from 5 to 6 inches of rainfall on the region, with several counties nearby reporting flooding and power outages.
Tyler County remains under a disaster declaration, and officials are reminding residents with property damage to report it using the The Texas Department of Emergency Management (TDEM)’s Individual State of Texas Assessment Tool (iSTAT) at damage.tdem.texas.gov.
To do so, select “April 26-Ongoing Sever Weather Event.”
The details provided help emergency management officials gain a better understanding of the extent of damages that have occurred. The information provided from the process also helps identify immediate resource needs.
The Neches River at Rockland is still at flooding stage, with the river at 29.2 feet at press time, and expected to recede throughout the week. Flood stage for the river is 26 feet. At Town Bluff, where flooding stage is 68 feet for the river, it is at 74.7 feet at this time, with it predicted to remain above flood stage throughout the week.
Comment
Comments