{"id":375014,"date":"2026-07-16T03:43:08","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T03:43:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/375014\/"},"modified":"2026-07-16T03:43:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T03:43:08","slug":"abbott-says-texas-is-ready-for-potential-record-floods-as-heavy-rain-batters-central-texas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/375014\/","title":{"rendered":"Abbott says Texas is ready for potential record floods as heavy rain batters Central Texas"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>AUSTIN, Texas \u2014 Gov. Greg Abbott said Wednesday that Texas is prepared for what could be record-breaking floods as heavy rain continues across Central Texas.<\/p>\n<p>Heavy rain has prompted flash flood warnings across much of Central Texas, with rivers expected to rise rapidly through Thursday and emergency crews already conducting dozens of water rescues.<\/p>\n<p>The governor held a briefing Wednesday to discuss the state\u2019s ongoing response to the flooding affecting Central Texas, where he said some areas may receive more than 30 inches of rainfall, a significant increase from the 20.29 inches of rain recorded during last year\u2019s devastating Fourth of July weekend flooding.<\/p>\n<p>Abbott was joined by representatives from the Texas Division of Emergency Management, the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas Department of Transportation, who outlined action plans and answered reporters\u2019 questions.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur primary focus right now, and throughout the remainder of this torrential rain, is saving lives,\u201d Abbott said.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/cbsaustin.com\/news\/local\/how-much-money-can-turn-around-dont-drown-save-you\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">ALSO| How much money can &#8216;Turn Around, Don&#8217;t Drown&#8217; save you?<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Abbott issued a disaster declaration for 59 counties on Tuesday and said more counties can be added to that declaration as needed.<\/p>\n<p>More than 75 people have been rescued, Abbott said. No deaths have been reported as of Wednesday afternoon.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFortunately, we had the assets in place to be able to make those rescues,\u201d Abbott said.<\/p>\n<p>Chief Nim Kidd of the Texas Division of Emergency Management said the majority of rescues made were stranded motorists. Officials urged Texans to stay off flooded roadways and avoid driving unless absolutely necessary.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe best situation is that people are not in a situation where they need to be rescued,\u201d Abbott said. \u201cAlways just remember the simple slogan: turn around, don\u2019t drown.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Abbott said the Nueces River basin and its tributaries are most at risk. He urged Texans near other river basins to stay weather aware as well.<\/p>\n<p>Abbott also said there is a high risk of excessive rainfall from Sonora to Del Rio, including Eagle Pass. Forecasters expect 10 to 15 inches of rain in those areas through Thursday morning.<\/p>\n<p>Abbott said there is a low threat of tornadoes, but rising rivers and flash flooding pose the greatest threat.<\/p>\n<p>The Texas Department of Transportation said crews are ready to respond across multiple districts as the forecast evolves and urged Texans to check DriveTexas.org for the most up-to-date road conditions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"AUSTIN, Texas \u2014 Gov. Greg Abbott said Wednesday that Texas is prepared for what could be record-breaking floods&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":372962,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[132,134,133],"class_list":["post-375014","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-austin","tag-austin","tag-austin-headlines","tag-austin-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/375014","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=375014"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/375014\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/372962"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=375014"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=375014"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=375014"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}