Grandmother and four grandchildren killed as flash floods strike Texas

Police in the town of Palestine said they had been inundated with calls

Lenda Asberry and four of her grandchildren were killed (Family)

A grandmother and her four grandchildren have been killed in eastern Texas after heavy flooding besieged the town of Palestine.

Officials said the 64-year-old woman, and the children died after being trapped inside their home as waters rose rapidly in the early hours of Saturday. They were later identified as Lenda Asberry, Venetia Asberry, 9, Devonte Asberry, 8, Von Anthony Johnson Jr, 7, and Jamonicka Johnson, 6.

Palestine Police Chief James Muniz told NBC News: “The water just came up extremely fast. Before they knew it, water was waist high, then chest high, and then it was roof line.”

The names of the victims, who were discovered at about 3.45am, were not immediately released. Palestine police said an additional six to eight families on the same street had been displaced by the fast-moving floodwaters.

Sometime after midnight, police received word that the grandmother and her grandkids were missing, Mr Muniz said.

“We started to get overwhelmed with calls,” he said. “We had fire and other city workers out looking for them and once the water receded, we found them.”

The children lived with their grandmother and were the only people in the home when the waters began to rise. Other residents on the block attempted to salvage belongings from their inundated properties.

The overnight flooding was part of a dangerous series of storms that tore through parts of the Plains and South on Friday and early on Saturday, knocking out power and prompting disaster declarations in at least two Texas communities, the news channel said.

A record amount of rain fell on Little Rock, Arkansas, overnight, with the same system expected to drop up to five inches in parts of Louisiana and Texas, according to Weather.com. A new round of heavy rain was forecast for the South that could linger for two days.

Parts of northeast Texas, southwest Oklahoma, northeast Louisiana and southwest Arkansas remained under flash flood warnings early on Saturday, according to the National Weather Service.

Officials issued a disaster declaration in Texass Lindale and Smith County, which are between 80 and 100 miles east of Dallas late on Friday, due to the dangerous weather. Lindale’s fire department reported three minor injures in the town.

Near Dorchester, Texas, a funnel cloud that was called a tornado was spotted Friday afternoon and residents potentially in the path in the nearby town of Sherman were told to take shelter. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.

Hail the size of quarters and golf balls was reported in Tarrant County where Fort Worth is located, according to the National Weather Service, and street flooding of three to four inches was reported in Hopkins County.