HOUSTON—As more than a foot of rain deluged the nation’s fourth-largest city, inundating homes, shutting down major highways and leaving at least five people dead, Houston’s mayor said there was no immediate solution.
Heavy flooding has become nearly an annual rite of passage in the practically sea-level city, where experts have long warned of the potential for catastrophe and have criticized city leaders for not doing more to address the problem.
“A lot of rain coming in a very short period of time, there’s nothing you can do,” Mayor Sylvester Turner said Monday.
Flash flooding and a 50 percent chance of more were possible Tuesday, a day after nearly 18 inches fell in 24 hours. The National Weather Service had the area under a flash flood watch through Wednesday morning.
