Residents from the McDade Estates, located on FM 2854 in Conroe, were mandatorily evacuated early Monday morning at as the San Jacinto River Authority released water from the Lake Conroe dam. Hurricane Harvey has delivered record-breaking rainfall and life-threatening flooding across southeast Texas and parts of Louisiana.

According to a SJRA news release, the Lake Conroe dam is releasing 73,201 cubic feet of water from Lake Conroe per second. Lake Conroe’s water level has risen to 205.88 feet above mean sea level—which is slightly higher than the previous water level record of 205.60 feet in 1994.

Conroe Communications Coordinator Victoria Endsley said roughly 150 people from McDade Estates were evacuated from their homes around 1:30 a.m.; some residents were transported to the city’s recreation center before moving to different shelters.

“Once the water comes, we can’t evacuate the people from the neighborhoods, so it is better to evacuate now before [the SJRA releases more water],” Endsley said.

Six other Conroe neighborhoods have been put under recommended evacuation, including River Plantation, Woodhaven Forest, Artesian, Riverbrook Drive and Sherbrook Circle, neighborhoods off of FM 2854 and neighborhoods downstream from McDade Estates.

Endsley said the city will notify residents through the cityofconroe.org website, as well as go door-to-door to notify residents of voluntary and mandatory evacuations. As for areas not included in the current six areas, city officials recommend keeping a watchful eye on water levels over the next 12 hours.

Conroe Mayor Toby Powell said the city is trying to stay alert and “ahead of the curve” in terms of storm response.

“The city staff and employees, public works, fire department, police officers have been superb in what they have done for the city,” Powell said. “We’re not out of the storm yet, so [residents should not] get complacent … be cautious and be careful.”

Visit www.cityofconroe.org for up-to-date information on evacuations, flood levels and road conditions. To monitor Lake Conroe water levels, releases, rainfall totals or stream flows, visit www.sjra.net and click the link in the upper right corner labeled “Lake and River Conditions.”

For a list of local and regional resources, click here.