Deadly Storms Linger, Assault Plains
Pastor Dale Morgan
Deadly Storms Linger, Assault Plains*
Monday May 28, 2007 11:31 PM
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - Rain soaked the Plains states on Monday in a
lingering storm blamed for five dead, two missing and more than 1,000
people stranded over the Memorial Day weekend. The storm's latest
lashing caused some minor flooding and road closures.
Much of southeast Texas was expected to get 1 to 2 inches of rain with
some areas getting 3 to 5 inches, said Matt Moreland, a forecaster at
the National Weather Service in Houston. Ten inches fell overnight in
the town of Hallettsville.
In Oklahoma, more than 1,000 campers trapped in their cars by flash
flooding on Sunday were able to leave Turner Falls Park near Davis on
Monday. No injuries were reported.
Park officials had opened a building inside the park to allow
rain-soaked campers to dry out, and the Red Cross delivered food and
supplies, park manager Tom Graham said.
By 8 a.m. Monday, the floodwaters subsided enough so that motorists
could cross the low-water road leading to the campgrounds.
``The park is going to be closed for two or three days,'' Graham said.
``We've still got a lot of cleanup to do.''
Flood warnings were issued for parts of Oklahoma and Texas. Severe
thunderstorm warnings were issued as far north as Wyoming and South Dakota.
At Guadalupe River State Park in Texas, public access to the river was
reopened Monday afternoon with a word of caution.
``We advise all but the most experienced people to stay out of the
water,'' said park superintendent Mark Abolafia-Rosenzweig.
On Sunday, firefighters rescued more than two dozen people as the
Guadalupe spilled over its banks in Central Texas. After taking refuge
from the rain under a bridge, 17 people had to be rescued as the river
rose, said Mark Reynolds, a public information officer with the Comal
County Sheriff's Office.
The two men missing since Thursday when their vehicles were swept away
are presumed dead. Both of their vehicles were found.