Basketball fans in Houston were trapped for hours inside an arena by flash flooding after watching their team win.

Nearly five inches of rain has fallen on the city since Monday evening.

Houston Rocket tweet

Two hundred fans have been trapped for more than six hours

Fans were advised to stay in their seats because of the weather following Houston Rockets' win against the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Western Conference Finals on Monday night.

The game finished at 22:35 local time but fans were still in the Toyota Centre six hours later.

Sam Amick tweet

USA Today reporter Sam Amick tweeted: "Dwight Howard is among those still stuck at Toyota Center. He stays far outside of town, so not safe to leave"

The Houston Chronicle reported that to ride out the storm alongside player Dwight Howard as rain continued to fall into the early hours of Tuesday morning.

"I don't think it's smart for anybody to try to be out in this weather," said Howard, who plays centre.

Fans congregated on one side of the arena as staff cleaned ahead of a scheduled Neil Diamond concert on Tuesday night.

Almost six hours after the game, Simone Eli, a presenter on KPRC 2 Houston,

The BBC Weather Centre said heavy rain began in Houston at about 21:00 local time and there have also been thunderstorms, while more heavy rain and tornadoes are forecast for Friday.

At least and hundreds of homes have been destroyed in flash flooding in the southern US.

Tweet from Matt Musil

Matt Musil from KHOU-TV tweeted from inside the Toyota Centre