Major Rainfall Causing Flooding in Southern Region
Announcement Number: CN2016-9
Categories: General Announcements
Posted Date: April 18, 2016
To Our Customers,
Rainfall moving from the Rockies into the midsection of the country is causing flooding in parts of Union Pacific's Southern Region. Union Pacific is experiencing outages in the greater Houston area. As of midday Monday, train movement was being affected by: a washout along the Glidden Subdivision, a washout along the Navasota Subdivision, water over the track on the Eureka Subdivision, and three washouts along the Smithville Subdivision. With the ongoing rain, complete inspections are not yet possible. We expect variable conditions over the next two days and will assess track conditions as soon as it's safe.
The Houston area already has received 10 to 20 inches of rain with major flooding reported on the White Oak Bayou at Houston and on Cypress Creek near the suburb of Westfield. The west fork of the San Jacinto River, which is near the Houston suburb of Humble, also is expected to reach flood stage.
More rain is expected through Tuesday. Flood warnings are in place for a large portion of eastern Texas stretching into southeast Oklahoma, southwest Arkansas and far western Louisiana. Union Pacific has deployed resources to the area and is ready to make repairs as soon as weather conditions permit. Customers with freight traversing the area should expect delays of up to 48 hours throughout this week.
We will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates as conditions warrant.
Thank you for your business. Please contact the National Customer Service Center or your Union Pacific representative with any questions.