On Thursday, Halloween began with frightening weather in central Texas as torrential rains flooded roads and buildings, stranding residents and prompting evacuations of some low-lying areas.
Overnight, some areas received up to 15 inches of rain, which swelled rivers and washed out low-water crossings in a swath of more than 100 miles around Austin, Texas, according to the National Weather Service Austin-San Antonio office.
Emergency crews responded to 81 flood-related incidents in Travis County, which surrounds Austin, including 32 water rescues and 46 flood assistance and barricade calls, the LA Times reported. Hundreds of homes in Travis County were also rocked by the floods while several shelters have been opened for those displaced, Austin fire officials said.
The Texas flooding was part of a major front that the National Weather Service said on Thursday would produce severe thunderstorms and possibly tornadoes from the Great Lakes south to the Gulf Coast.
As a result, the nasty weather prompted some cities and churches to consider postponing Halloween trick-or-treating.
"Postponing is not a bad idea. It would be kind of irresponsible to say go ahead and go outside," said Trevor Boucher, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Nashville, Tenn., according to Reuters. He recieved a number of calls from city and county officials trying to decide whether to proceed with Halloween activities.
In one neighborhood southeast of Austin, the rains caused a creek that normally runs at about 7 feet to swell more than five times its normal size. It was expected to crest at a record 41 feet by Thursday afternoon before receding, Zeitler said.
"For certain areas, it looks like this will be in their top 10 (flood events) of all time," Zeitler said.
No injuries had been reported but entire neighborhoods near swollen creeks were being evacuated.
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