HOUSTON – Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick issued the following statement today warning Texans in rain-soaked areas around the state to continue to monitor local weather conditions and pay attention to warnings by local officials:

“I joined Gov. Greg Abbott for a briefing today by the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) and am working with him to ensure that state resources are available to local officials in impacted areas so they have what they need to address these weather threats. I want to encourage those in areas that have been impacted by the heavy rain of the past week to stay alert to the fact that the threat of flooding continues, even in places where it may not currently be raining. The severe weather is expected to continue through the weekend and into next week. The important admonition to ‘Turn Around, Don’t Drown’ is critical now as water covers over 150 roadways in Texas and over 50 roads have been closed due to flooding. Use DriveTexas.org or call 800-452-9292 to find a safe route to get where you are going. It is also important to pay close attention to the weather, news and local officials and evacuate if they call for evacuation.”

Governor Abbott has included the following counties in his current state disaster declaration: Bandera, Bastrop, Baylor, Blanco, Brown, Burnet, Callahan, Cameron, Coleman, Colorado, Comanche, Eastland, Edwards, Erath, Fayette, Gillespie, Hamilton, Haskell, Hidalgo, Hood, Jim Wells, Jones, Kendall, Kerr, Kimble, Kinney, Lampasas, La Salle, Liberty, Live Oak, Llano, Madison, Mason, McMullen, Mills, Nolan, Nueces, Palo Pinto, Parker, Real, San Jacinto, San Patricio, San Saba, Shackelford, Somervell, Stephens, Taylor, Throckmorton, Travis, Uvalde, Walker, Willacy, Williamson, and Zavala.