5 Dead, 2 Missing After San Antonio Flooding

At least 5 people died early Thursday morning after multiple vehicles were swept away during heavy rain and flooding in San Antonio, Texas. 2 people remained unaccounted for late Thursday, said the San Antonio Fire Department. The department's Public Information Officer, Joe Arrington, told weather.com that just after 5 a.m. local time they started receiving water rescue calls from the area around NE Loop 410 and Perrin Beitel Road.

At least 15 vehicles were swept away in the area into the creek below. 10 people were rescued from trees and bushes about a mile from where their vehicles entered the water. Another 2 people were able to escape the flooding on their own, but four people were taken to the hospital with minor injuries. Arrington described the rescue effort as "extremely difficult" and "harrowing" for crews.

San Antonio was inundated with 6.11 inches of rain since midnight Wednesday. That’s more than the average rainfall in June and July combined, and it was the second wettest June day on record for the city.

Local reports showed vehicles across the city trapped in high water overnight, and the city confirmed that dozens of water rescues were happening. Many cars were seen covered by water or floating along Interstate 35. The San Antonio Fire Department responded to 70 calls for high water rescues.

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The flooding shut down more than two dozen roads in San Antonio and city officials urged people not to attempt to drive across flooded streets. Across Bexar County, the National Weather Service reported that 40 low water crossings were closed along with several others in Comal and Hays counties.

The storms knocked out power to more than 57,000 customers across Texas, according to PowerOutage.us. Arrington also shared that San Antonio fire crews responded to at least 3 structure fires and 4 transformer fires during the overnight storms.