Six people have died following a flash flood in the city of Palestine in Anderson County, Texas, on Friday 29 April 2016. The dead have been identified as Giovani Oliva (30), Lenda Asberry (64) and her great-grandchildren Venetia Asberry (9), Devonte Asberry (8), Von Anthony Johnson Jr. (7) and Jamonika Johnson (6). The flood is reported to have occured after 19 cm of rain fell in an hour in the area, and is the latest in a series of flood events in eastern Texas.
Flooding in Palestine, Texas, on Friday 29 April 2016. Reuters.
Rainfall in eastern Texas is driven principally by evaporation of water from the
Caribbean, an area which has been suffering exceptionally high
temperatures this year. However the flooding has also been linked to
rapid urban expansion in the area, which is built on an area of
historic coastal wetlands. Samuel Brody of the Center for Texas Beaches and Shores at Texas A&M University at Galveston
has calculated that the area of soil covered by paving in Houston has
expanded by 25% in the last 15 years, preventing rainwater from draining
into the soil and raising the dangers of flooding in the city.
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