Houston roads start to flood as Harvey stalls


              The roof of a gas station sits in flood waters in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017, in Aransas Pass, Texas.   Harvey rolled over the Texas Gulf Coast on Saturday, smashing homes and businesses and lashing the shore with wind and rain so intense that drivers were forced off the road because they could not see in front of them.  (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
The roof of a gas station sits in flood waters in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017, in Aransas Pass, Texas. Harvey rolled over the Texas Gulf Coast on Saturday, smashing homes and businesses and lashing the shore with wind and rain so intense that drivers were forced off the road because they could not see in front of them. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (AP) - Houston's interstate highways and major streets are starting to flood as Tropical Storm Harvey stalls over Southeast Texas.

Many of Houston's roads had spots of flooding Saturday night that were nearly impassable. The city's transportation authority counted more than 50 high water spots just a few hours into the storm passing through the area.

National Weather Service meteorologist Nikki Hathaway says between up to 6 inches (15 centimeters) of rain fell within three hours. In some sections of south and southwest Harris County, where Houston is located, more than 4 inches (10 centimeters) of rain had fallen in an hour.

Officials are urging people to stay off of the roads. The National Weather Service has received multiple reports of water rescues in Harris County and nearby areas. The Harris County sheriff's office said on Twitter that it rescued one driver from 3 feet (0.91 meters) of rushing water.

Hathaway says the weather service has issued a Flash Flood Emergency for the Harris County area until after 12:15 a.m.

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