Texas Real Estate News: Hundreds of Homes Damaged by Heavy Rains in October

Heavy rains from the remnants of Hurricane Patricia last October has left hundreds of damaged homes extending from the Austin area down into South Texas.

            According to Insurance Journal, emergency officials of Travis County has said in a statement that more than 330 properties were damaged in flooding last week. About 160 of those homes have sustained major damages, while nearly 160 of the others only acquired some minor damage.

            KWTX reported that more than 175 homes in Willacy County, in far South Texas were damaged because of the high winds and floodwaters from the remnants of Hurricane Patricia about two weeks ago.

            According to the report from The Valley Morning Star, as much as 19 inches of rain fell in some areas last October. This is considered by weather officials as the fifth wettest going back to 1895.

            The rainfall caused by the former hurricane also caused the derailment of a Union Pacific freight train near Corsicana, about 50 miles south of Dallas.

            In a report by USA Today, railroad spokesman Jeff DeGraff told the Associated Press that the creek overflowed causing the tracks to be washed away.

            "The two crewmembers swam to safety and nobody was hurt," DeGraff said. One locomotive and several rail cars loaded with gravel went into the water and were partly submerged."

            The National Weather Service said that there is an average of 5.84 inches of rain in October, well above the average count of 2.53.

            Even with lots of houses being left damaged by the rain because of the flood, no deaths have been recorded. This is a little bit better compared to the Memorial Day storms that killed more than 30 people in Texas and Oklahoma, and stranded 2,500 cars around Houston.

            Francisco Sanchez, a spokesman for Harris County's emergency management division, said that they have learned their lessons in the past flooding.

            "The public responded well. For the most part they heeded our warnings," said Sanchez.