Governor issues disaster declaration for six Texas counties

Severe storms and flooding throughout southern Texas hit the town of Mercedes hard between Tuesday, June 19 and Thursday, June 21. (Credit: Carmen Nino via Storyful)

Governor Greg Abbott issued a State Disaster Declaration for six Texas counties impacted by flooding and severe weather.

The disaster declaration includes Aransas County, Cameron County, Hidalgo County, Nueces County, San Patricio County and Willacy County.

"As severe weather and flooding continue to impact parts of Texas, our first priority is to ensure the safety of our fellow Texans in harm’s way,” said Governor Abbott.  “The State of Texas has activated all necessary resources to help respond to the ongoing severe weather, and we will continue to provide any assistance to local communities. I thank our first responders who are working to keep Texans safe, and I encourage all those in the affected regions to continue to heed all warnings from local officials.”

Officials in far South Texas are distributing sandbags and rescuing residents from floodwaters as rain continues to fall after series of thunderstorms have hammered the area over the last several days.

National Weather Service meteorologist Tim Speece said Thursday morning that the rain was expected to continue throughout the day before moving out by Friday.

Storms that have moved across the Texas coastal region this week have also brought heavy rains to areas that less than a year ago were hit by flooding from Hurricane Harvey, including the Beaumont-Port Arthur area, east of Houston.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.