15 die as storms strike Texas

AUSTIN, Texas: Thousands of people were ordered to evacuate flood-threatened areas of Texas on Wednesday as torrential rains battered the state, where at least 15 people have been killed in weather-related incidents this week, including six in Houston.
People were told to stay away from more than 200 homes in Parker County where the Brazos River was poised to overflow its banks about 30 miles (50 km) west of Fort Worth on Wednesday night, county officials said.
“The river is coming up fast and flowing at dangerous volumes,” Parker County Judge Mark Riley told a news conference, adding shelters were available.
The death toll in Texas was expected to rise, with about a dozen people still missing and more thunderstorms pelting the already flooded cities of Houston and Austin.
In Hays County alone, nine people were missing after flood waters on Monday swept away homes from their foundations. Three people in the county, about 30 miles (50 km) southwest of Austin, were already confirmed dead.
At least three people were injured on Wednesday when a tornado hit a natural gas drilling rig near the Texas panhandle city of Canadian, the Hemphill County sheriff said. The return of heavy rains was impeding emergency rescue efforts across the state.
“The river is going to start to rise again,” said Kharley Smith, the Hays County Emergency Management coordinator. “It is going to shift the previously inspected debris piles.”