On June 19th, 2006, Houston Texas and neighboring Louisiana experienced an incredible influx of rain. This caused hundreds of people to be evacuated from their homes, entire nursing homes to be completed evacuated, and left others trapped in airports or businesses because of flooded roadways.
Miraculously, no deaths occurred during this event.
The rain came hard and fast on June 19th, 2006, with 6 inches of rain falling in just over an hour near Hobby Airport, which is located in Houston, Texas. The airport was closed for over two hours while workers struggled to make it through flooded highways and road systems to open the airport properly.
Those waiting at the airport for their flights to take off were told to not queue at the counter unless someone had already informed them of their flight status because crews were trapped and couldn’t make it to work.
All told, just under 11 inches fell from the sky, most of it happening during rush hour making the floods even more dangerous. The Houston Red Cross opened a shelter at a local high school, and the city itself was forced to open a shelter at a community center to deal with those who were experiencing evacuation orders or were at risk due to extreme flooding.
The rain couldn’t have come at a worse time, just as people were rushing to work or school. The city had advised residents to not drive unless they absolutely had to, but emergency responders still had to recover over a dozen people from flooded vehicles.
One man who was taking a relative to dialysis left his home before 5 am, but had to abandon his truck when it was swallowed by water. The two waded through chest-deep water in the rain to escape and later had to push it out of the roads as levels receded.
A tow truck driver reported this was his busy time, and dealing with flooded cars and trapped motorists was “his job”. He also shared he had to rescue his own wife after her car had gotten trapped in high waters on the way to work. Residents from the East Side of Houston said the water was at least two feet high in some places.
Thousands were without power for days following the flooding, and some hospitals had to reschedule non-emergency procedures due to a lack of staffing that morning.
