Death toll from Houston floods rises to six

Rescuers in the fourth largest U.S. city of Houston found on Tuesday the body of a 43-year-old woman in a car submerged in a flooded ditch in north Harris County, bringing the death toll to six after powerful storms lashed the city on Monday.

Rescuers found the woman's body inside a car pulled from the water. It is believed that the victim was driving on the flooded street, missed a turn and fell into the rain-swollen gully, according to local daily the Houston Chronicle.

On Monday, heavy rains hit the Houston area, causing at least five deaths, most of them drowned, and damaging hundreds of homes and paralysing the transportation system.

On Tuesday, some freeways and neighborhood streets remain underwater. It is believed that it will take a few days for the floodwater to recede,and Houston's Mayor Sylvester Turner admitted that there was no immediate solution to the floodwater.

All schools in the Houston region were shut down on Tuesday for safety reasons, and most schools will stay closed on Wednesday, but the schools belonging to the Houston Independent School District (HISD), the state's largest school district, will reopen.

Houston had sporadic showers on Tuesday, but local meteorological service warned that thunderstorms are possible in the coming days. Endi