Houston in state of emergency amid deadly floods

"This is the most I have ever seen in the state of Texas," said Abbott as he declared a state of disaster in nine Texas counties. He said the flooding risks would remain for several days.

Houston's mayor, Sylvester Turner, said: "I regret anyone whose home is flooded again. There's nothing I can say that's going to ease your frustration. We certainly can't control the weather.

"A lot of rain coming in a very short period of time, there's nothing you can do."

Heavy flooding has become nearly an annual event in the near sea-level city, where experts have long warned of the potential for disaster.

Flash flooding and more rain were possible on Tuesday, a day after water levels approached 50cm (20in) in some areas. Scores of subdivisions flooded, schools were closed, and power was knocked out to thousands of residents who were urged to shelter in their homes.

The Harris county chief administrator, Judge Ed Emmett, said two bodies were found in a vehicle that had been seen on traffic cameras driving around barricades and unsuccessfully attempting to navigate a flooded underpass.

Another person, believed to be a contractor with the city's airport system, was found in a submerged vehicle not far from the airport. A fourth person, a truck driver, was found dead in his cab after encountering high water on a freeway service road.

In nearby Waller county, a man was found in a submerged vehicle, which investigators believed was caught in rushing water, the Houston Chronicle reported.

Several shelters were set up for people forced out of their homes. At least 1,000 people taken from apartment complexes in the north of the city and moved to a shopping mall were being ferried by bus to a shelter, Turner said.

Thousands of homes outside Houston were flooded, many for the first time, with at least 450 rescues being undertaken.

Experts say that, location aside, Houston's "gumbo" soft soil, fast-growing population and consequent building boom make it vulnerable to high waters.

Some of the housing developments included adequate green space for water runoff, but not all, said Philip Bedient, an engineering professor at Rice University.

"Could we have engineered our way out of this?" Bedient said. "Only if we started talking about alterations 35 or 40 years ago."

He said improving the monitoring of specific watersheds and flood-prone areas might give residents the extra time needed to take protective measures and possibly save lives.

"We can't solve this flood problem in Houston. All we can do is a better job warning."

Kazinform refers to The Guardian.com

Photograph: Mark Mulligan/AP, Photograph: David J Phillip/AP, Photograph: Steve Gonzales/AP