Houston flooding: Texas declares city a 'disaster zone' after five killed in historic floods

Texans are braced for more rain and flash flooding a day in a period of extreme weather

Residents flee their homes amid fears of further flooding (AP)

Houston has been declared “a disaster zone” following the deaths of five people amid historic flooding and record rainfall.

More rain and flash flooding is expected in texas after 17.6 inches (44.7cm) of rain fell on one day alone, after 16 inches of rain the previous day.

The Governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, has declared a state of emergency as 70,000 people in Houston, the fourth-largest city in the US, have been left without electricity.

At least one person who died was found submerged in their car.

Flooding has stemmed from rivers and creeks bursting their banks.

Rising water has submerged homes and vehicles, forcing people to swim or take boats to safety.

At least 1,000 homes have flooded, and temporary evacuation centres have been set up in a large shopping centre.

Officials have warned children not to play in water that is likely to contain snakes and ants.

“Do not think the city is not seeing you,” Mayor Sylvester Turner told residents in Greenspoint, a poor, mostly Hispanic neighbourhood of 112,000 people in northern Houston, in a press conference.

“It's a situation where all throughout the city, and quite frankly all throughout our region, we're dealing with high water.”

Greenspoint residents have been forced to move their belongings on blow-up air beds and inside refrigerators.

According to the City of Houston Twitter account, this flood is the largest to strike Houston since Tropical Storm Allison in 2001, which killed 23 people.