Houston rainfall kills 5, state of emergency declared

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has declared a state of emergency in Houston, Texas after record rainfall claimed five lives, international media report.

Rivers overflowed in downtown Houston and around 1,200 people were rescued from rising floodwaters, after around 44.7cm of rain fell on Monday alone. Rains are expected to ease off on Tuesday.

The BBC reports that around 70,000 people were left without power in the city, and at least 1,000 homes flooded, with the number likely to rise. According to reports, city officials have turned a large shopping centre into an evacuation centre.

According to reports, city officials are dissuading people from driving in the fast-flowing waters, and they have warned against allowing children to play in waters as they are likely to contain snakes and ants.

The city, on the Gulf of Mexico, is prone to heavy rains, and has seen a number of major flooding events, but the flood is the largest to strike the city since Tropical Storm Allison in 2001, which led to 23 deaths across the state, the City of Houston Twitter account reads.