Tropical storm Alberto brings floods to Texas as Mexico braces for landfall

In Texas, officials warned of flooded roads in the Houston area early Wednesday afternoon. The tide was rushing beneath the elevated houses in some coastal cities, such as Surfside Beach, about 40 miles south of Galveston, by Wednesday morning. The city closed its beach earlier this week and warned visitors to stay away as the flooding worsened.

The National Hurricane Center warned that Alberto was a large storm, with tropical-force winds extending about 415 miles north of its center in the Gulf of Mexico as it moved west toward northeastern Mexico. The storm had maximum sustained winds of 40 mph, but the main concern was rainfall of a foot or more that was predicted for parts of Texas and Mexico. Tropical storm warnings were issued for coastal areas on both sides of the border.

Forecasters predicted that Alberto could make landfall early Thursday near the Mexican city of Tampico, but its effects were expected to extend far beyond that.

Ahead of the storm, Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas activated a range of emergency management resources, including high-water boats and helicopters with hoist capabilities. On Wednesday afternoon, he declared a severe-weather disaster declaration for 51 counties.

The effects of the storm were already being felt Wednesday.

There were reports of property damage on North Padre Island after coastal bulkheads collapsed from the storm surge. And on South Padre Island, officials were distributing free sandbags to businesses and residents. In Corpus Christi, at least two people were rescued and taken to higher ground after their cars became submerged in floodwaters, officials said.

As Alberto approached, the National Weather Service issued a tornado warning late Wednesday night for an area of Texas along the U.S.-Mexico border that included the cities of McAllen, Mission and Pharr. Tornado warnings that were issued earlier for counties near Corpus Christi were extended. A tornado watch was in effect until 7 a.m. local time for much of Texas south of San Antonio, an area that is home to about 2.5 million people.