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Heavy rains from the remnants of Tropical Storm Erin flooded streets and sent waterways near flood stage in the Houston area today, also causing a roof collapse that killed one person and injured another at a Clear Lake-area grocery story.
The collapse occurred at the Randalls store at Clear Lake City Boulevard and Space Center Boulevard. A Houston police officer said one person, believed to be a store employee, was killed and another person was taken to a hospital.
No more details about the victims were available. The collapse occurred at the rear of the store, around the loading dock.
Although the storm quickly diminished to a tropical depression this morning after hitting the coastline about 25 miles northeast of Corpus Christi, it was dumping heavy rains in the Houston area and elsewhere as it moved slowly to the northeast.
The emergency system was activated as flooding struck the Houston area. The National Weather Service reports flooding is expected in areas including the Texas Medical Center, Reliant Park, Minute Maid Park, the Memorial area, Hobby airport, Hermann Park, the Galleria, Ellington Field, South Houston and Bellaire.
Because of localized flooding, MetroRail service was suspended between the Fannin South Park & Ride and Smithlands and Wheeler platforms, said Metro spokeswoman Raequel Roberts.
A bus bridge was put into use between those platforms.
The transit agency also is dealing with delays in bus service throughout Houston.
Bayous and tributaries in the county were within their banks as of noon today, said a spokeswoman for the Harris County Flood Control District.
However, the National Weather Service said several bayous had reached flood stage, or were near that point. Brays Bayou already had risen more than foot above flood stage at Lawndale.
Clear Creek, from above Pearland to east of the Gulf Freeway into the Clear Lake area, hadn't yet flooded but was expected to do so later this afternoon.
On Houston's south side and surrounding areas, heavy downpours forced many drivers to pull into parking lots because of poor visibility and concerns about high water.
After almost a solid hour of torrential rain, the intersection of Martin Luther King Boulevard and Bellfort, in southeast Houston, was flooded just before noon.
Some motorists pulled their vehicles up onto the median on MLK to escape rising water. It was unclear whether the vehicles were flooded out or still able to run.
In the Galleria area, portions of Richmond Avenue were under water and passable only by higher vehicles. Some motorists were halted in frustration. Drainage systems appeared to already be overwhelmed.
"The water is moving as fast as I can walk," said Houston resident Paul Kittell,52, who sought refuge at a restaurant. "I am watching the water rise as I am eating. It's like a tide."
Sandra Major, 40, who moved here from California, was not pleased.
"It is terrible, " she said. "I am not used to this type of rain. I'm used to a sprinkle. Now, we're going floating."
The Texas Medical Center, site of devastating flooding during Tropical Storm Allison in June 2001, locked down hospital garage floodgates just before noon.
The lockdown, the first phase of the center's flood control policy, is implemented when flooding in the Harris Gully culvert reaches 10 feet.
But Harry Holmes, senior vice president of the Texas Medical Center, said with the storm heading northeast, that appears to be the only precaution the medical center will need.
Holmes said there was some localized flooding in the medical center at Holcombe, Alameda and Fannin, but no significant obstacles to hospital access.
Erin came ashore at about 7 a.m. at Copano Bay, about 25 miles northeast of Corpus Christi.
The storm's winds fell to 35 mph as it crossed the coastline, dropping below the 39 mph threshold for tropical storms. The center continued moving to the west-northwest at about 12 mph and was expected to continue on that track today, the National Hurricane Center in Miami reported.
Erin's arrival made it the first named system to make landfall in Texas since 2003.
The storm, which churned through the Gulf of Mexico with winds of 40 mph Wednesday night, posed primarily a flooding threat to coastal areas.
Early today, the National Weather Service issued flash flood warnings for six counties along the Texas coast near the anticipated landfall of the storm.
Isolated tornadoes were possible along the middle Texas Gulf Coast today, the hurricane center said.
In east Houston, J.R. Harris Elementary School was struck by lightning today, but officials said no one was injured.
Several other HISD schools are experiencing weather-related problems. In east Houston, water was reported coming into the buildings at Patterson Elementary, Bellfort Academy and DeZavala Elementary, and the power is off at Harper Alternative School, 3200 Center.
The University of St. Thomas closed for the rest of the day because of the weather.
Sandy Soliz, director of public affairs, said officials will monitor the weather in the morning, she said, and determine whether to remain closed on Friday.
The downpour flooded streets throughout east Houston and is being blamed for a roof collapse at a warehouse behind the old Maxwell House coffee plant on Harrisburg. An HPD officer said no injuries were reported.
Francisca Lara, who lives next door, was making lunch shortly after noon when she heard a loud crash.
``I came outside, but it was raining too hard,'' Lara said. ``It was scary.''
She said she saw several people milling around outside the building after the collapse. Large chunks of the roof could be seen scattered on the floor of the cavernous warehouse.
The storm also caused a section of the east wall to peel away from the building.
Texas hasn't had a direct strike by a named storm since Tropical Storm Grace, another minimal storm, made landfall on Galveston Island in August 2003. The centers of Hurricane Rita in 2005 and Hurricane Ivan, which made its second U.S. landfall in 2004 as a tropical storm, narrowly missed the state by coming ashore in Louisiana near the Texas border.
In Houston, highs today and Friday may reach only 90 degrees, and widespread showers through at least Friday should be welcomed by parched lawns.
Flooding concerns increased farther down the coast, where more rain could fall closer to Erin's center. Some of those areas remain soggy from weeks of heavy rain. Regions accustomed to 28 inches all year, such as Bee County just northwest of Corpus Christi, received more than 35 inches of rain in June and July alone.
"We had a few road closures for a couple of days," said David Morgan, Bee County's emergency management coordinator. "Everything's green."
As for Erin, Morgan said the area is prepared to receive the predicted 8 to 10 inches of rain forecast once the storm makes landfall.
"We'll have some low-level flooding in areas," Morgan predicted. "We've had three weeks of pretty hot, dry weather. That's going to help us."
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