At least 5 dead, 30 missing in Texas flooding

HOUSTON (KGO) -- Houston is dealing with a flash flood emergency for the first time ever. At least five people have died and countless others are stranded, including some basketball fans who rode out the storm at Toyota Center, home of the Rockets.

PHOTOS: Severe weather moves through Texas

Record rainfall has wreaked havoc across parts of the U.S. Midwest, causing flash floods in normally dry riverbeds, spawning tornadoes and forcing at least 2,000 people to flee.

Aerial video shows parts of Houston underwater. More than 11 inches of rain fell in some parts overnight, knocking out power and prompting a flash flood emergency.

"Obviously, the worst thing that's happened is that we've had a loss of life here," Houston Mayor Annise Parker said.

Parker declared an emergency and reached out to the governor for federal help.

"What we had was really two different events, added to several weeks of really heavy rainfall. The ground was saturated. Last night we had torrential rain," Parker said,

Houston emergency management coordinator Rick Flanagan says virtually every part of the city was affected by floodwaters, most notably central and southwest Houston.

He said Tuesday that fire crews responded to about 530 water rescues overnight, mostly from people stranded in their vehicles.

At least 2,500 abandoned vehicles are strewn about the city from drivers seeking higher ground.

At least five people have died statewide.

Teenager Alyssa Ramirez's car was swept away on her way home from prom.

Hays County Commissioner Will Conley says some of the 30 people who are unaccounted for due to the significant flooding along the Blanco River in Central Texas may be staying somewhere else. Eight of those missing were in a vacation home that was swept down the river and slammed into a bridge.

Among the missing are a mother and her kids. The woman's sister received a frantic phone call as their vacation home washed away.

"She called me. She said, 'I'm in a house. I'm floating down the river. Tell mom and dad I love you. And pray,'" sister Julie Shields recalled.

Conley also says 70 homes were destroyed and 1,400 homes and properties have some type of damage after this weekend's torrential rains.

The worst flooding damage was in Wimberley, where the vacation home was swept away, a popular tourist town along the Blanco in the corridor between Austin and San Antonio.

The Blanco crested above 40 feet - more than triple its flood stage of 13 feet. The river swamped Interstate 35 and forced parts of the busy north-south highway to close. Rescuers used pontoon boats and a helicopter to pull people out.

Hundreds of trees along the Blanco were uprooted or snapped, and they collected in piles of debris that soared 20 feet high.

Many bearing the storm have been posting dramatic pictures and videos of the rain, lightning and flooding on social media.

Hundreds of basketball fans sought shelter at Toyota Center. They were allowed to stick around after last night's playoff game.

At one point, Rockets player Dwight Howard came out and greeted those stranded fans.

They were given popcorn and were even allowed to sleep in the luxury suites until they felt safe enough to go home.

The Warriors are still in Houston. They're scheduled to fly out earlier this afternoon and, despite the bad weather, the team does not expect any delays.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.