Erin Blamed For At Least 7 Deaths In Texas

At least seven deaths around Texas are being blamed on what had been Tropical Storm Erin as the state deals with at least 6 inches of rain.

Cars Wade Through Floodwaters | Man Climbs Tree

Authorities in Houston said one person was killed and another was hurt when a waterlogged roof collapsed at a storage unit at a Houston grocery store, reported KPRC-TV.

A store employee was pulled out of the rubble after being trapped by ceiling debris and a metal beam. He was rushed to the hospital and the extent of his injuries is not known.

The body of a second victim was recovered after an exhaustive search, officials said.

"That whole area back there -- that whole roof nearly pancaked down. And this is a concrete, tent-wall constructed building, metal trusses. And on top of that, you have corrugated tin. And on top of that, you have concrete. And on top of that you have asphalt shingles. We had to cut all that away," a Houston fire investigator told KPRC-TV.

Forecasters said the corridor between San Antonio and Austin could get up to 10 inches of rain.

In San Antonio, Texas, at least four deaths are being blamed on Erin, reported KSAT-TV.

Police said a man was swept away in San Antonio when he apparently got out of his vehicle in floodwater. And a truck driver drowned when his 18-wheeler went into a flooded retention pond.

Overnight rain prompted officials to evacuate three areas of mostly RVs parked along the Medina River. About 50 people were forced to flee from a subdivision on Medina Lake.

The body of David Alexander, 18, was found in a creek after he was swept away in floodwaters.

Witnesses said that Alexander's sport utility vehicle landed in a canal after it crashed on Southwest Military Drive.

The vehicle was swept away and was pinned in a drainage culvert.

Alexander was able to get out his vehicle but a rescue attempt was unsuccessful and his body was swept away about 4 miles, police said.

Slick roads were being blamed for a multi-vehicle crash in Comal County that left three people dead and one person critically injured.

Texas Department of Public Safety officials said the crash happened during heavy rain on Highway 281 near Spring Branch, Texas.

A Volvo carrying a couple from Austin, Texas, crashed head-on into a Lincoln Continental carrying a couple from McAllen, Texas.

The couple from McAllen and a woman, who was described as the driver's wife, in the Volvo were killed.

Even as they fetched dozens of drivers stranded by high water, authorities in Houston and San Antonio looked over their shoulders at Hurricane Dean, a Category 2 storm building in the Atlantic as it neared islands in the eastern Caribbean. Hurricane warnings were issued for some islands, and a tropical storm watch was issued for the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.

Forecasters predict west Texas may see up to 7 inches of rain Friday.