Houston Flooding
Heavy rains over 24 hours were responsible for flooding in Houston and throughout central and southeast Texas. Reuters

Southeast Texas was hit with heavy rains over 24 hours and the severe weather has led to widespread flooding across Houston and neighboring counties. The National Weather Service issued a flood warning for Austin, Brazoria, Fort Bend and Wharton counties as the San Bernard River continued to rise Tuesday morning.

"Persons are urged to stay away from the river until water levels recede. Motorists should avoid any water-covered roads and find an alternate route. Livestock and equipment should remain out of the flood plain for the next few days," read the NWS alert. The flooding has shut down the Houston Metro and public schools announced closures. Parts of Houston received up to 10 inches of rain in a 24-hour period, the Weather Channel reported. On Tuesday, there were 26 reported high-water locations and several major accidents.

The City of Houston announced the activation of its Emergency Operations Center at the Houston Emergency Center to Level 1 to handle the response to the flooding. Municipal court cases were suspended while nonemergency city services and nonessential city employees were reporting to work on a two-hour delay. KHOU in Houston published a complete list of school closures.

"Turn around, don't drown" is the motto the City of Houston Office of Emergency Management is using to advise people to not drive in high-water locations. If a car is taking on water, officials recommend that drivers leave the car immediately and call for help.

Four people were killed in Oklahoma and two deaths have been reported in Texas due to the severe weather and heavy rains over the last four days, CNN reported. In Texas, 12 people were missing in Hays County while up to 400 houses have been swept away due to the heavy flooding. KTRK-TV has a live stream of its coverage of the Houston flood that can be viewed here.