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5 from New Orleans stuck in Texas hotel flooded by Imelda

Hullender, who was staying on the fourth floor, originally saw few inches covering the floor. But the water continued to rise.
Credit: Richard Hullender
Hullender, a railroad engineer, said he woke up to find water in the lobby of the MCM Elegante Hotel, about 100 feet from Interstate 10.

BEAUMONT, Texas — Richard Hullender expected it to be just another work trip.

But on Thursday, the Destrehan resident was trapped in his Beaumont hotel as floodwaters rose inside the lobby.

The flooding was thanks to Tropical Storm Imelda, which drenched southeast Texas.

Hullender said he woke up to find water in the lobby of the MCM Elegante Hotel, about 100 feet from Interstate 10.

Not only was the water rising in the hotel lobby — it was about 2 1/2 feet deep by late morning — the interstate was also flooded and shut down, Hullender said.

He said he and four other colleagues from the metro New Orleans area felt safe in their rooms on the fourth floor.

Right now, he said, it was a hurry-up-and-wait situation, and he was thankful to still have power.

They aren't the only people trapped by the water. Areas throughout eastern Texas have been struck by flooding. 

The worst of the flooding is east of Houston, and some local officials said the rainfall Thursday is causing flooding worse than what happened during Hurricane Harvey

In Beaumont, authorities said all service roads are impassable and two local hospitals are inaccessible. 12News, WWL-TV's sister station in Beaumont, evacuated their building amidst wall-to-wall coverage of the storm because of flooding in their building. 

RELATED: 12News in Beaumont, Texas, evacuated due to flooding from Imelda

In the Texas town of Winnie, about 60 miles east of Houston, a hospital was evacuated and water is inundating several homes and businesses. The Chambers County Sheriff's Office said Winnie is "being devastated by rising water" and water rescues are ongoing.

Forecasters warned that Imelda could bring up to 35 inches of rain this week in some areas of Texas through Friday.

"It's bad. Homes that did not flood in Harvey are flooding now," Jefferson County Judge Jeff Branick said.

RELATED: Water rescues underway as Imelda drenches parts of Texas

The National Weather Service issued a flash flood emergency for several counties, saying "life-threatening amounts of rainfall" have fallen and more is expected in the area Thursday. Imelda's center was located about 110 miles north of Houston early Thursday and was moving north-northwest at 5 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Thursday, the storm was predicted to continue inland towards Houston as officials declared flash flood warnings for Harris County. 

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