Floods destroy bridge, force evacuations in Central Texas

Fast-moving floodwaters destroyed a bridge, forced the evacuation of riverside homes and led to numerous water rescues in Central Texas on Tuesday after more than a foot of rain fell in recent days.

The bridge crumbled as it was overrun by the bloated, roiling Llano River in Kingsland, about 65 miles (105 kilometers) northwest of Austin. The Llano and Colorado rivers meet at Kingsland, and the National Weather Service said both were experiencing "major flooding." A flash flood warning was in effect.

Residents were being evacuated from homes in Kingsland and in nearby Marble Falls, which was being overwhelmed by the Colorado River. Several school districts closed for the day, and emergency personnel blocked access to more than 150 low-water crossings.

The Llano River flows between to sides of Ranch Road 2900 after the bridge was washed out due to flooding Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2018, in Kingsland, Texas. (Jay JannerAustin American-Statesman via AP)

Gov. Greg Abbott released a statement urging "all Texans to take their safety into their own hands by closely monitoring changing weather conditions and heeding warnings from local officials."

The governor's warning came little more than a week after four people were washed away when the South Llano River, which becomes the Llano River downstream, overran an RV park in Junction, Texas. Three bodies have been recovered. The search for the fourth has been suspended due to the heavy rain.

The most dramatic scenes Tuesday played out in Marble Falls, where an extraordinary amount of water poured over the Starcke Dam, carrying with it riverside docks and other large debris.

Water from the Colorado River pours over the Max Starcke Dam, Tuesday Oct. 16, 2018, in Marble Falls, Texas. The Llano and Colorado rivers meet at Kingsland and the National Weather Service said both were experiencing "major flooding." A flash flood warning was in effect. (Amanda VoisardAustin American-Statesman via AP)

Homes also were being evacuated in nearby Granite Shoals, and people were sheltering at a middle school.

Bill and Laura Villella awoke early Tuesday to about 12 inches (30.5 centimeters) of water in their Llano home. The rising water forced them to stand on their kitchen counter before emergency personnel in a boat pulled them to safety.

"We honestly did not believe it would go up that high," Bill Villella told the Austin American-Statesman. His wife added: "I've been through a lot in my life, but that's the scaredest I've ever been."

Joe Mercer and his friend Tonya Grace watch weather reports from their porch as the rising waters from the Colorado River floods their property on Tuesday Oct. 16, 2018, in Marble Falls, Texas. Mercer says they will evacuate their home if the nearby creek gets higher. (Amanda VoisardAustin American-Statesman via AP)

Water levels along the Llano River at Llano have subsided but are still well above major flood stage. Levels rose to just under 40 feet (12 meters) on Tuesday but fell as the morning progressed, settling at little more than 35 feet (11 meters), according to the National Weather Service. Major flood stage is 23 feet (7 meters), and the river isn't expected to drop below that stage until Wednesday.

Heavy rains were also impacting other parts of the state.

Flood warnings were issued for areas north of Houston, and the Fort Worth Fire Department said it responded to some 80 traffic accidents blamed on slick roads and poor visibility Tuesday morning. Officials in Dallas said the rain was causing sewer overflows in several parts of the city but added that its water supply wasn't affected.

In Austin, fire officials temporarily banned all watercraft. Flooding was also occurring in Kerr County, northwest of San Antonio, and other parts of Texas Hill Country, according to the Texas Department of Transportation. The Guadalupe River at Comfort, northwest of San Antonio, was forecast to rise from about 5 feet (1.5 meters) up to more than 28 feet (8.5 meters).

Patricia Sanchez, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Fort Worth, said the transition from fall to winter usually brings elevated levels of rainfall — but nothing compared to the amount of precipitation over the last month.

"The ongoing multiple days of rain and the extraordinary amount is of course not normal," she said. "Not for this time of year."

Recent tropical systems and moisture from the Gulf of Mexico are contributing to the amount of rain Texas has seen, she said. Light to moderate rain will continue for the next couple of days but taper off as the weekend approaches, she said.

For the latest developments on the rains and flooding: https://bit.ly/2IZxElC

JERUSALEM (AP) — Yemen's Houthi rebels on Saturday claimed shooting down another of the U.S. military's MQ-9 Reaper drones, airing footage of parts that corresponded to known pieces of the unmanned aircraft.

The Houthis said they shot down the Predator with a surface-to-air missile, part of a renewed series of assaults this week by the rebels after a relative lull in their pressure campaign over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.

U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Bryon J. McGarry, a Defense Department spokesperson, acknowledged to The Associated Press on Saturday that “a U.S. Air Force MQ-9 drone crashed in Yemen.” He said an investigation was underway, without elaborating.

The Houthis described the downing as happening Thursday over their stronghold in the country's Saada province.

Footage released by the Houthis included what they described as the missile launch targeting the drone, with a man off-camera reciting the Houthi's slogan after it was hit: “God is the greatest; death to America; death to Israel; curse the Jews; victory to Islam.”

The footage included several close-ups on parts of the drone that included the logo of General Atomics, which manufactures the drone, and serial numbers corresponding with known parts made by the company.

Since the Houthis seized the country’s north and its capital of Sanaa in 2014, the U.S. military has lost at least five drones to the rebels counting Thursday's shootdown — in 2017, 2019, 2023 and this year.

Reapers, which cost around $30 million apiece, can fly at altitudes up to 50,000 feet and have an endurance of up to 24 hours before needing to land.

The drone shootdown comes as the Houthis launch attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, demanding Israel ends the war in Gaza, which has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians there. The war began after Hamas-led militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people and taking some 250 others hostage.

The Houthis have launched more than 50 attacks on shipping, seized one vessel and sank another since November, according to the U.S. Maritime Administration.

Houthi attacks have dropped in recent weeks as the rebels have been targeted by a U.S.-led airstrike campaign in Yemen. Shipping through the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden has declined because of the threat. American officials have speculated that the rebels may be running out of weapons as a result of the U.S.-led campaign against them and after firing drones and missiles steadily in the last months. However, the rebels have renewed their attacks in the last week.

A Houthi supporter raises a mock rocket during a rally against the U.S. and Israel and to support Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, in Sanaa, Yemen, Friday, April. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Osamah Abdulrahman)