A deluge of storms and floods in Texas and Oklahoma left at least 19 people dead and a dozen others missing as of Wednesday, authorities said even as rains continued to flood streets especially in Houston where four people perished.
The number of dead is expected to rise further with people still missing in the storms that caused flooding and destroyed homes and bridges, according to Reuters.
"A lot of folks drove their car into high water and had to abandon those vehicles," Houston Mayor Annise Parker said at a news conference.
Houston confirmed a fourth person dead because of the severe weather. The city said the first fatality was discovered at Ranchester in Harwin while the second fatality, a 50-year-old woman, was recovered from the Braes Bayou. The third person to die was found in a vehicle towed from Studewood while the fourth fatality was an Asian male.
According to the Oklahoma Medical Examiner's office, six people died during the storms over the weekend.
President Barack Obama signed on Tuesday a Disaster Declaration for Oklahoma and ordered federal aid to supplement state, tribal, and local recovery efforts in the area affected by severe storms, tornadoes, straight-line winds, and flooding.
With this, federal funding is now available to affected people in the counties of Cleveland, Grady, and Oklahoma including assistance for temporary housing and home repairs and low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses.
Mayor Parker has asked Texas Gov. Greg Abbott for a Declaration of Disaster on Tuesday.
The Houston Fire Department has received more than 900 calls of which 500 were water-related. Most of these were citizens being stranded in their vehicles.
The city urged citizens to stay home and avoid high water areas.
Although parts of the city were not affected, more than 1,000 vehicles were submerged in floods and people used bicycles, kayaks and surfboards to navigate flooded streets.
The President assured Abbott on Tuesday that he could count on help from the federal government as the state recovers from the floods.
Abbott declared a state of disaster in at least 40 Texas counties.
"It's devastating to see what I saw on the Blanco River when this tidal wave of water just swept away neighbourhoods," he said.
