Floodwaters Deluge Northeastern Oklahoma
Pastor Dale Morgan
Floodwaters Deluge Northeastern Oklahoma*
By TIM TALLEY,Associated Press Writer AP - Tuesday, July 3
MIAMI, Okla. - Hundreds of residents fled their northeastern Oklahoma
homes Tuesday with all they could carry as floodwaters pushed its
destruction downstream, and one river carried an oil slick toward a
large reservoir that supplies water to several cities.
An estimated 42,000 gallons of thick crude oil that spilled from a
Kansas refinery on Sunday floated with mud and debris down the Verdigris
River, coating everything it touched with a slimy, smelly layer of goo.
The slick wasn't expected to have an effect on water supply intakes
located well below the surface Oklahoma's Oologah Lake, about 30 miles
northeast of Tulsa, said Skylar McElhaney, a spokeswoman for the
Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality.
The oil joins other causes of misery for thousands affected by flooding
in Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas.
Torrential downpours led to fast-rising water early Tuesday in East
Texas, prompting a couple of people to be rescued from water-logged
vehicles.
A 70-year-old man was swept off the top of a car into floodwaters and he
held onto a tree for about four hours before being rescued by game
wardens, said Richard Hill, Hunt County's emergency management coordinator.
No homes were flooded, Hill said Tuesday afternoon.
"We have had probably a good four hours of no rain, and the water is
receding," he said. "Right now it's OK, but of course the forecast is
for more torrential downpours tonight."
In northeast Oklahoma, the rain-swollen Neosho River spilled over its
banks, forcing at least 300 Miami residents to evacuate and flooding
buildings and apartments at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College, where
classes were canceled for the rest of the week.
"We never anticipated this," said Denia Payton, as family members pulled
kitchen cabinets and a dishwasher from her home.
"I don't have no flood insurance," Payton said as the floodwaters lapped
into her garage. "Whatever's left here is gone."
The river, swollen from heavy rains earlier in the week upstream in
southeast Kansas, was scheduled to crest around midnight at 31 feet,
more than 15 feet above flood stage, said Miami City Manager Mike Spurgeon.
No injuries were reported, but Spurgeon said another 200 to 300 homes
may have to be evacuated before the water recedes.
Utility crews disconnected electricity on entire blocks to prevent the
possibility of fire, and additional chlorine was added to the city's
water supply to prevent contamination.
"We've sent our fire department out to the areas where we anticipate the
worst flooding to be," Spurgeon said. "There's those that just have a
difficult time leaving. It's a very personal deal with a lot of emotion
involved."
At least 50 people were evacuated by boat Tuesday from a rural community
in western Missouri as floodwaters streaming in from neighboring Kansas
submerged roads leading to the town.
Bates County Emergency Management Director Tim Young said most residents
in and around the small community of Papinville were leaving after the
nearby Osage and Marais des Cygnes rivers flooded.
"About half a mile outside town is where the water starts. Most of the
roads in town are covered in water, so we've got houses as islands and
we've got boats kind of wandering through to pick people up and provide
assistance," Young said.
Evacuees included one family outside town with 10 dogs, all of whom were
brought out by boat, Young said.
In Kansas, the Verdigris River had crested and was beginning to recede
Tuesday at Coffeyville, but it was kept high by water being released
from the Elk City and Fall River Toronto Lake reservoirs upstream, said
Jim Miller, Montgomery County emergency manager.
"It's going to come down the Verdigris until they shut that water supply
off," he said. "So it's just a matter of time."
Environmental officials were planning to conduct water sampling where
the oil slick made its way.
"As of right now, we don't have a full assessment of the extent of the
contamination," said Dave Bary, a spokesman for the Environmental
Protection Agency in Dallas. "Quite a bit of it remains on the surface
and is visible."
___
Associated Press writer Marcus Kabel in Springfield, Mo., contributed to
this report.