LUMBERTON, Texas — A disaster was declared in Hardin County Saturday morning after overnight storms dumped nearly a foot of rain on a few areas of the county and triggered the closure of part of Interstate 10 in west Jefferson County for several hours.
Hardin County Judge Wayne McDaniel issued the disaster declaration just before 11 a.m, citing flash flooding after county officials said 12 to 16 inches of rain fell over 12 hours in the county.
The flooding caused a "public safety hazard" with damage to infrastructure, has caused roads to be impassable and caused power outages according to the declaration.
McDaniel asked county residents to report any damage to the state via an online form.
MORE | Report any flooding damage
Multiple roadways in the county have several inches or more of water over them with some, but not all, flooded roads barricaded.
McDaniel urged residents to respect the barricades and not drive around them. He also asked that they avoid driving down any flooded roads.
Flooding in Hardin County
In Jefferson County, westbound Interstate 10 near Hamshire was shut down at about 9 a.m. and was reopened by about 11:30 a.m. Even after the westbound lanes were reopened there was still some water over parts of the roadway and traffic was moving slowly, officials said,
Some homes were reported to have taken on water in Hardin County where firefighter with Emergency Services District Two began making water rescues and evacuating some residents at about 5 a.m. Saturdays morning.
In Lumberton three or four homes on Bryan Ln had water in them as well as at least one home on John Loop, according to Lumberton Police Chief Danny Sullins.
This is a developing story. We will update with more if and when we receive more confirmed information.