HARRIS COUNTY, Texas — Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo took a helicopter tour of the areas affected by flooding Saturday afternoon. Before taking off, she gave an update on conditions and the county’s response.
She said while rain is holding off for the most part today, the area is not out of the woods, especially considering more rain in the forecast for Sunday.
Hidalgo said the East Fork of the San Jacinto River has crested and has even gone down a few feet, but flooding is ongoing there. The West Fork, however, continues to rise and major flooding is happening in areas like Kingwood, Forest Cove and other nearby neighborhoods.
“The water there will rise and one to two feet around 10 to 11, midnight tonight, so those neighborhoods need to brace for more water obviously coming their way,” she said.
Hidalgo said the evacuation orders that are in place will remain for now, as problems could arise with rising water if people left.
“Maybe people would leave and then rain ends up falling north of us again and there ends up being a significant amount,” she said. “And that’s certainly possible.”
She said that for many people within the evacuation zones, it's too late to leave without help from emergency responders.
"We definitely advise folks not to get into high water, because there's all kinds of materials in there," Hidalgo said. "There were snakes, there were rats, there were spiders that we could just see with our eyes from the vehicle in the water. And you don't know what's at the bottom."
For people who have already evacuated, Hidalgo said it's still too soon to go back and check on their homes.
"It's just unnecessarily dangerous. If you need to get to a safe location, as always, call 911. Never drive into high water," she said.
According to the judge, 178 Harris County residents and 122 pets have been rescued so far.
She said the Harris County remains at Level 1 readiness, which is hte maximum, but anticipates going down to Level 3, depending on weather and flood conditions.
Watch Hidalgo's full media briefing below: