Houston, Rajab 24, 1436, May 13, 2015, SPA -- Parts of Texas are being hit by rain that has caused flooding and led to water rescues in the Houston area, while officials in northern Texas are taking the unusual step of releasing water from lakes to avoid their banks from being breached. More than 22 centimeters of rain has fallen in the Houston area in the last 24 hours. City fire spokesman Jay Evans said Wednesday that 20 people, most of them motorists, needed to be rescued from high water. Evans said some road intersections have 1.5 meters of standing water, stranding vehicles in Houston and cities to the south. Parts of the Dallas-Fort Worth area have received 25 centimeters of rain over the past week, with more expected in coming days. Lakes hit by a recent drought have overflowed their banks this week. --SPA 21:25 LOCAL TIME 18:25 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w