Video shows cars stranded 5 feet deep in northeast Houston floodwater on Tuesday
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Viewers sent ABC13 videos from the storm that tore across the area on Tuesday, serving as a reminder not to drive in floodwater.
Lauren Gonzalez captured the effects of strong winds when a tree was knocked over and tumbled over several vehicles at a parking lot at the University of Houston.
Officials reported Tuesday's storms caused flooding and wind gusts reaching 75 mph, which is consistent with Category 1 hurricane winds.
ABC13's storm chaser Jaime Garcia was near Jensen and Creston Drive in northeast Houston, where three vehicles were stranded in floodwater under the bridge.
The water gauge on the structure shows the flood level was just under 5 feet deep.
Your top-tier driving skills won't help you avoid sinking in floodwater, so don't take the chance.
As hurricane season nears, storms are to be expected. However, Houston has been hit with back-to-back natural disasters over the past couple of weeks.
In late April, a severe rainstorm flooded many homes and businesses. Then, a deadly EF-1 tornado with peak winds of 110 miles per hour slammed the area two weeks before Houston was hit with another storm on Tuesday.
RELATED: 'Everybody's frustrated': No relief for some Walker County neighbors still flooded after 2.5 weeks
Less than a foot of water can send your car floating away, and in a flood, that means you can sink and drown.
According to the Federal Emergency Management Administration:
- Just 6 inches of moving water will reach the base of most passenger vehicles
- 2 feet of water can sweep away your vehicle, even an SUV or truck
- Most vehicles will float in just one foot of water
If that doesn't seem like a lot, consider that a cubic foot of water weighs more than 60 pounds. Each foot of rising water applies 500 pounds of lateral force on a vehicle.
If floodwaters rise around your car but the water is not moving, the agency advises you to abandon the car and move to higher ground. Do not leave the car to enter moving water.
Meteorologists have repeatedly warned how dangerous it is to drive through water.
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