(CNN) — Millions across southeast Texas and parts of Louisiana will remain under flash flood watches into Thursday because of torrential rain that has swept through the region, triggering power outages and reports of localized damage.
Flash flood watches were also in effect Wednesday for parts of Oklahoma and Arkansas, as slow-moving storms have pounded the south-central US for days, and more rain is possible through at least Friday.
At one point early Wednesday, more than 100,000 customers were without power in Texas, according to the website PowerOutage.us. By late Wednesday morning, that number was down to around 44,000 customers.
]Flash flooding was underway Wednesday morning in parts of south-central Texas, including counties to the west of Corpus Christi, according to the National Weather Service. The service warned of high water in creeks, streets, underpasses and low-lying areas.
Storms also have brought strong winds, leaving damage. In the Texas community of Seguin outside San Antonio, a tree dropped onto the home of Lora Soto Flores this week, narrowly missing her, she told CNN affiliate KABB.
“I had just got out of there. I went to the restroom and got out, as soon as I got out I closed this door, and that’s when it hit,” collapsing her roof and leaving the restroom covered in debris, she told KABB.
In Fulshear, Texas, about a dozen trees had fallen, blocking roads, the city said in a social media post. Officials urged people to stay away from downed power lines and report them.
In the coastal Texas city of Port Lavaca, the fire department urged residents to stay home and off the roads until the storm passed after receiving multiple reports of stranded motorists.
More than a foot of rain has fallen across portions of Texas and Louisiana since Monday, and 2 to 4 inches could generally fall in the area Wednesday.
Deadly damage in Louisiana
In Louisiana, authorities were investigating five deaths related to the weather. Three of those deaths were people in submerged vehicles in various parts of the state. The other two deaths were people who were on oxygen when their power went out, Shane Evans, chief of investigations with the coroner’s office in East Baton Rouge.
“Had their machines been working, there is no doubt in my mind they would be alive today,” Evans said.
The Louisiana State Patrol said a crash Monday night in West Baton Rouge Parish left one person dead, another missing and others with minor injuries.
The vehicle left the road and went into a canal where it sunk, state police said in a news release.
In neighboring Arkansas, the National Weather Service issued flash flood warnings early Wednesday.
The Arkansas Division of Emergency Management tweeted that 15 people were rescued after at least four homes and eight cars were affected by the flooding in Saline County. “Please be cautious – avoid flooded areas ‘turn around don’t drown,'” the tweet said.
