High waters flooded neighbourhoods around Houston on Saturday following heavy rains that have already resulted in crews rescuing more than 400 people from homes, rooftops and roads engulfed in murky water.
Others prepared to evacuate their properties.
A wide region was swamped from Houston to rural East Texas, where game wardens rode airboats through waist-high waters rescuing both people and pets who did not evacuate in time.
One crew brought a family and three dogs aboard as rising waters surrounded their cars and home.
A flood watch was in effect through to Sunday afternoon, as forecasters predicted additional rainfall on Saturday night and the likelihood of major flooding.
“It’s going to keep rising this way,” said Miguel Flores Jr of Kingwood, a neighbourhood in northeast Houston.
“We don’t know how much more. We’re just preparing for the worst.”
Husband and wife Aron Brown, 45, and Jamie Brown, 41, were two of the many residents who drove or walked to watch the rising waters near a flooded intersection close to the San Jacinto River.
Water could be seen flowing into parts of the couple’s subdivision, but Aron Brown said he was not worried because their home is at a higher elevation than others in the neighbourhood.
Mr Brown, who had driven from his home in a golf cart, said the flooding was not as bad as that caused by Hurricane Harvey in 2017.
He pointed to nearby power lines and said that flooding during Harvey had reached the top of the lines.
“A lull in heavy rain is expected through (Saturday) evening,” according to the National Weather Service.
“The next round of heavy rainfall is expected late (Saturday) into Sunday.”
Up to three inches (7.6 centimetres) of additional rain was expected, with up to five inches (12.7 centimetres) possible in isolated areas.
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said more rain was expected on Sunday, and if it is a lot, it could be problematic.
Ms Hidalgo is the top elected official in the United State’s third-largest county.
