Go Back
  • For Business
  • |
  • Warnings
  • Data Suite
  • Newsletters
  • Advertising
  • Superior Accuracy™
At least 3 killed amid historic flash flooding in New Mexico town. Click for the latest Chevron right
‘We will not leave’: 180 still missing in Texas flood zone as death toll hits 111. Read more Chevron right

Columbus, OH

82°F
Location Chevron down
Location News Videos
Use Current Location
Recent

Columbus

Ohio

82°
No results found.
Try searching for a city, zip code or point of interest.
settings
Columbus, OH Weather
Today WinterCast Local {stormName} Tracker Hourly Daily Radar MinuteCast Monthly Air Quality Health & Activities

Around the Globe

Hurricane Tracker

Severe Weather

Radar & Maps

News

News & Features

Astronomy

Business

Climate

Health

Recreation

Sports

Travel

For Business

Warnings

Data Suite

Newsletters

Advertising

Superior Accuracy™

Video

Winter Center

AccuWeather Early Hurricane Center Top Stories Trending Today Astronomy Heat Climate Health Recreation In Memoriam Case Studies Blogs & Webinars

News / Weather News

2nd '500-year rainfall' in 2 years will cause $8 billion in damages, AccuWeather predicts

By John Roach, AccuWeather staff writer

Published Sep 19, 2019 5:43 PM EDT

Copied

Angel Marshman wades through floodwaters from Tropical Depression Imelda after trying to start his flooded car Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2019, in Galveston, Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

AccuWeather estimates the total damage and economic loss caused by Imelda will be $8 billion, according to the company's Founder and CEO Dr. Joel N. Myers, based on an analysis of damages expected from major flooding caused by heavy rainfall over eastern Texas and far southwestern Louisiana. 

The estimate includes damage to homes and businesses, as well as their contents and cars, job and wage losses, farm and crop losses, contamination of drinking water wells, infrastructure damage, auxiliary business losses and the long-term impact from flooding, in addition to the lingering health effects resulting from flooding and the possible disease caused by standing water. 

AccuWeather’s damage estimate incorporates independent methods to evaluate all direct and indirect impacts of the storm based on a variety of sources, statistics and unique techniques to estimate damage developed over a decade. 

Given the major flooding with a high risk to lives and property in eastern Texas and far southwestern Louisiana, Imelda is rated as a 3 on the AccuWeather RealImpact™Scale for Hurricanes for the overall tropical storm. The AccuWeather Local StormMax™rainfall amount is projected to be 55 inches; despite that high total, Imelda is a 3 because the coverage area receiving the heaviest rain is not a large or populated area, such as Houston, during Hurricane Harvey in 2017. Imelda was never rated on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale by the National Hurricane Center.  

“This storm is a great example of the value of the AccuWeather RealImpact™Scale for Hurricanes that we invented,” Myers said. “It would be easy to dismiss Imelda since it is not a hurricane but a tropical storm, but the rain and subsequent flooding is the main source of what will be substantial damage.”

Deep tropical moisture will continue to stream northward from the Gulf of Mexico with heavy rain bands expected to continue impacting the area Thursday night and perhaps even early Friday. A very heavy rain band east of Houston continues to drop copious rainfall amounts of 3 to 4 inches per hour, adding to flooding that is ongoing in some areas. 

“The rain and resulting flooding will be the overwhelming cause of damage and discomfort and threats to life and property,” Myers said. “The amount of rainfall will rival records set during Hurricane Harvey, which makes this the second 500-year rainfall within two years.”

George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston was at a full ground stop because of the rainfall and severe weather in the area as of Thursday morning. Some parts of Texas are facing possible levee collapses and local emergency offices have asked residents of Harris, Montgomery, Liberty and Chambers counties to shelter in place in response to flood emergencies caused by Imelda. 

As flooding overwhelmed many access roads, access to Interstate 10 and Highway 69 from Beaumont became "extremely limited," the police department said. The City of Beaumont has closed non-essential offices for Thursday. The interstate was also closed in both directions near Highway 365 and Fannett.

Click here to follow AccuWeather's extensive coverage of Imelda for more information.

Related:

LIVE: Water rescues underway as Imelda's catastrophic flooding devastates parts of southeastern Texas
Tropical Storm Imelda's flooding rain leaves homes underwater
Following Humberto, where do the Bahamas stand 2 weeks after Dorian?
Summer’s end isn’t the end of the hurricane season

Download the free AccuWeather app to receive the latest forecast and tropical advisories. Stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network for Imelda coverage on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.

Report a Typo
Comments that don't add to the conversation may be automatically or manually removed by Facebook or AccuWeather. Profanity, personal attacks, and spam will not be tolerated.
Comments
Hide Comments

Weather News

video

House swept away by raging floodwaters in New Mexico

Jul. 8, 2025
Weather News

‘We will not leave’: 180 missing in Texas floods, death toll hits 111

Jul. 9, 2025
video

Before-and-after pictures show devastation caused by Texas floods

Jul. 9, 2025
Weather News

The faces of the Texas flooding tragedy

Jul. 7, 2025
Severe Weather

Severe weather to rumble in the central US through the holiday weekend

Jul. 6, 2025
Weather News

Record sargassum seaweed piles up on Caribbean islands, Gulf

Jul. 2, 2025
Weather News

Alabama teen in ICU after lightning strike hits boat, causing burns an...

Jul. 2, 2025
Show more Show less Chevron down

Topics

AccuWeather Early

Hurricane Center

Top Stories

Trending Today

Astronomy

Heat

Climate

Health

Recreation

In Memoriam

Case Studies

Blogs & Webinars

Top Stories

Weather News

Deadly flash flooding devastates wildfire-scarred New Mexico town

1 hour ago

Weather News

How did we get a dozen '1,000-year floods' in 3 days?

1 hour ago

Weather News

Camp Mystic, site of deadly Texas flooding, is in 'Flash Flood Alley'

17 hours ago

Weather Forecasts

Flash flood threat to continue in central Texas into midweek

2 hours ago

Severe Weather

Flooding downpours, severe thunderstorms to mitigate heat in East

19 hours ago

More Stories

Featured Stories

Weather News

US Coast Guard rescue swimmer hailed as a hero after saving 165 kids f...

19 hours ago

Travel

FAA investigating part of a Delta Air Lines wing fell onto a driveway

5 days ago

Weather News

France leads Europe in saying au revoir to beach and park smoking

5 days ago

Weather News

125,000-year-old ‘fat factory’ run by Neanderthals discovered

2 days ago

Weather News

An ambitious vision of a city built from lava

1 day ago

AccuWeather Weather News 2nd '500-year rainfall' in 2 years will cause $8 billion in damages, AccuWeather predicts
Company
Proven Superior Accuracy About AccuWeather Digital Advertising Careers Press Contact Us
Products & Services
For Business For Partners For Advertising AccuWeather APIs AccuWeather Connect RealFeel® and RealFeel Shade™ Personal Weather Stations
Apps & Downloads
iPhone App Android App See all Apps & Downloads
Subscription Services
AccuWeather Premium AccuWeather Professional
More
AccuWeather Ready Business Health Hurricane Leisure and Recreation Severe Weather Space and Astronomy Sports Travel Weather News Winter Center
Company
Proven Superior Accuracy About AccuWeather Digital Advertising Careers Press Contact Us
Products & Services
For Business For Partners For Advertising AccuWeather APIs AccuWeather Connect RealFeel® and RealFeel Shade™ Personal Weather Stations
Apps & Downloads
iPhone App Android App See all Apps & Downloads
Subscription Services
AccuWeather Premium AccuWeather Professional
More
AccuWeather Ready Business Health Hurricane Leisure and Recreation Severe Weather Space and Astronomy Sports Travel Weather News Winter Center
© 2025 AccuWeather, Inc. "AccuWeather" and sun design are registered trademarks of AccuWeather, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Cookie Policy | About Your Privacy Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information

...

...

...