Texas braces for more rain following devastating flooding

McALLEN, TEXAS — Days of heavy downpours turned homes in McAllen, Texas, into islands surrounded by flood waters.

Emergency crews used everything they had — helicopters, boats, heavy construction trucks, even their arms — to rescue the stranded, like Dora Jyman.

“We were glad to see that somebody was helping us and that we are going to be in safe place,” she told CBS News.

More than 150 people were carried to dry land.

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Miranda Ramirez left everything behind as water started to enter her home.

“Basically the water started to seep in like from the sides,” she described. “I barricaded the doorways.”

The 16 inches of rain since Monday took many by surprise, submerging cars and shutting down roads.

“Situations like this could be very dangerous just because of the moving nature of water … the unknowns underneath the water,” Deputy Fire Chief Gerald Williamson said.

It only took minutes for water to flood homes here, but it will take much longer to recover. The neighborhood can’t take much more – and more rain could fall tonight.

The south Texas region should start drying out Friday.