Child swept away in Texas flooding as storms threaten 40 million in south-central US
As severe weather continues to impact the south-central U.S. on Monday, officials in Texas are working to locate a child who was swept away in "rapidly rising floodwaters."
The Brenham Fire Department said the child, described as a "school-aged" girl, was swept away in the flooding at approximately 4:25 p.m.
The fire department says bystanders and police attempted a rescue, but those efforts were not successful.
In an interview with ABC News' Houston affiliate KTRK, officials said the girl was walking home from school with her sister when the adjacent creek rose rapidly, pulling her into the swift-moving water.
A nearby neighbor reportedly saw what happened and jumped into the creek to attempt to rescue the girl, while her sister ran away for further assistance.
The neighbor made contact with the girl, but because of the strong waters, he was unable to hang onto her, according to KTRK.
Multiple rescue teams are involved trying to locate the girl, officials said.
This comes as severe weather from western New Mexico to Louisiana has put 40 million people under flood watches due to potentially heavy rainfall.
There were 50 storm reports -- including damaging wind and hail -- reported across 10 states on Sunday. Most of the severe storms impacted parts of the Southwest, specifically in New Mexico and Texas.
On Monday, parts of far southeast New Mexico through west and central Texas could face an even larger threat for severe weather with damaging winds, large hail and tornadoes possible in these areas.
The regions could be faced with flash flooding and frequent lightning due to stronger, slow-moving thunderstorms with torrential rain. Both the Texas Panhandle and New Mexico could see 1 to 2 inches of rain, but totals locally could reach 3 inches or more through Tuesday morning.
Additionally, a tornado watch has been issued for portions of southeastern New Mexico and western Texas.
Along with storms in the South, strong to severe storms could appear along the East Coast following rainfall over the weekend.
A marginal risk for severe storms is possible across portions of the Mid-Atlantic and northeastern North Carolina, with parts of the New York City metro area, Long Island, Lower Hudson Valley, Connecticut, northern New Jersey and northeastern Pennsylvania now under a slight risk for flash flooding on Monday into Tuesday.
A portion of the Florida East Coast could also see isolated severe storms, brining damaging winds, hail and possible tornadoes.
On Tuesday, the system will continue to hit the central U.S., bringing another round of thunderstorms and heavy rain to portions of the Plains and the South. Over 17 million people are under a slight risk for severe storms beginning Tuesday afternoon and evening, with damaging winds, large hail and a few tornadoes possible.
Parts of the Deep South and eastern Texas will face the greatest threat for flash flooding.
Up to 6 inches of rain is expected along the lower parts of the Mississippi River, with 1 to 3 inches possible across parts of north Texas, the Texas Panhandle and Oklahoma. Some of these areas have already seen significant rainfall over the past week, making the ground very saturated and allowing for flash flooding to develop when heavy rain falls.
Scattered showers and thunderstorms will continue to move across the Northeast and Florida peninsula on Tuesday.
