Store roof collapses amid heavy rainfall
So, you ask...just how much rain have we had over the past few days? Well, enough to collapse the roof of the Home Depot on Galveston Island.
The roof of a Home Depot store in Galveston collapsed this morning, presumably because of heavy rainfall, and flooding on island streets has made the morning commute difficult. No one was injured in the roof collapse.
In Houston, it's been another messy commute as the rain seems to never stop....
In Galveston, Emergency Management Coordinator Elliot Jennings said of the accident at the Home Depot, "Fortunately, no one was injured. There was only a minimal crew in in the building."
The store, located in a new shopping center at 61st Street and Broadway, was not open for business when the collapse occured about 6:30 a.m....
In downtown Galveston, the American National Insurance building is opening late today because of downtown street flooding.
The inbound lanes of Broadway had traffic coming onto the island tied up, and Harborside Drive, another major route for commuters to downtown and the University of Texas Medical Branch complex, also was seeing flooding....
Because a trough of low pressure is sitting over the area, forecasters say it's going to keep raining through the weekend, with some storms producing heavy rainfall later today.
Rainfall amounts of 1 to 3 inches can be expected south of a line from Cleveland to Houston to Columbus, with some higher amounts of 5 to 7 inches possible. Counties to the north can expect rainfall of 1/2 to one inch with localized 3-inch amounts possible.
With the ground already saturated, more rain leads to a significant flooding threat for the southern half of southeast Texas.
Over the past two days...rainfall amounts over areas along and south of Interstate 10 have averaged 2 to 5 inches, and portions of Jackson, Wharton, Matagorda and Brazoria counties as much as 10 inches.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go buy lumber and and nails. I also have to find time to begin collecting two of everything. Dammit, I'm supposed to be on vacation and playing golf right about now....
