Officials in Brazoria County, Texas are urging residents to "get out" as waters at Columbia Lakes are breaching a levee.
"NOTICE: The levee at Columbia Lakes has been breached!! GET OUT NOW!!" the county posted on Twitter at 10:30.
— Brazoria County (@BrazoriaCounty) August 29, 2017
Brazoria County is located just south of the city of Houston, and includes cities like Pearland, Angleton and Lake Jackson.
According to CBS Houston, the levee in question is protecting residents from flood surge near the Brazos River near Sweeny, Texas.
#BREAKING: Levee breach on Columbia Lake in Brazoria County. pic.twitter.com/fbO2nYXhsl
— Jeff Jamison (@CBS11JeffJam) August 29, 2017
The levee breached after inland waterways rapidly swelled to major flood stage, county spokeswoman Sharon Trower said.
"The Brazos River is being pounded, and all of that water is coming down from the tributaries and creeks into the river," she said. "All the roads around us are flooded. We don't have any evacuation routes to tell people to take."
Officials in south Texas had previously warned residents to shelter in place and that travel was unsafe.
According to the 2010 Census, more than 350,000 people live in Brazoria County. It's unclear how many people are in the path of danger due to the levee failure.
More on this as it develops.
