The eastern portion of Nacogdoches County received about five and a half inches of rain Thursday and Thursday night, according to County Judge Joe English, causing a number of road closures, some of which remained in effect Friday.

"That part of the county was hit pretty hard," he said, "especially between 6 and 8 p.m. last night (Thursday) when all the creeks and the Attoyac River really came out of their banks."

The northern and western parts of the county also received significant rainfall but were not as heavily affected, English said. While some roads were completely covered and had large portions washed out, English said that most of the closures were due to high water on roads that historically flood whenever there is heavy rain.

"We were so saturated by having that much rain at one time, that there was just nowhere for the water to go," English said. "So we've got some areas where there is just water on the road or on the side of the road, but that will dissipate rather rapidly."

He added that while it is not expected to rain as heavily on Friday as it did throughout the day Thursday, the Attoyac River is expected to crest sometime around noon on Saturday, and that "the worst" may not be over.

"We will continue to monitor the outlying areas around the Attoyac River and also all the other creeks," he said. "We've called in every personnel that we have. The sheriff's office and the Road and Bridge Department have been up all night (Thursday night), and they're still going after it now."

Trees blocked some roadways, and there were two incidents of cars driving into the floodwaters. In one incident, a water rescue team was called out, but no injuries were reported in either case, English said. No other significant property damage has been reported. On Thursday, there were also several minor and major accidents throughout the county, and several streets were flooded out in the city of Nacogdoches, according to the police department.

"I think in general people did a good job of staying home when they knew things were bad," English said. "We periodically see this in Nacogdoches, so it's not new to anybody."

Helicopters, boats and high-water vehicles are on standby in Lufkin, English said, if they are needed.