Hundreds Flee Major Flooding in Texas
Pastor Dale Morgan
Hundreds Flee Major Flooding in Texas *
Jul 1 03:47 PM US/Eastern
WICHITA FALLS, Texas (AP) - Hundreds of residents near the overflowing
Wichita and Brazos rivers remained evacuated from their homes in north
Texas on Sunday, uncertain of when they could return.
At least 200 people were still displaced from their homes near the
Brazos River in Parker County. Some homes sustained minor damages while
up to four feet of water had seeped into others, said Shawn Scott,
Parker County emergency management coordinator.
Some residents had been allowed to return Saturday, but hours later
authorities encouraged them to seek higher ground as the lake runoff
moved downstream, Scott said.
Floodwaters weren't expected to go down until later Sunday. But the
threat of more rain loomed, he said.
"It's a continuous up and down situation," Scott said. "This could be
ongoing for the next few days."
Water rose overnight by 4 feet in one Wichita Falls neighborhood where
175 people left, although water had started gradually receding in
another neighborhood of the city in north Texas, city spokesman Barry
Levy said.
City officials had urged residents to leave Friday and weren't sure when
they could return because of concerns about contaminants in the water,
he said.
Storms on the southern Plains have claimed 11 lives in Texas since more
than a week ago, and two Texans were missing. Forecasters expected rain
to continue dumping on already sopped parts of north Texas up through
Missouri as part of a lingering storm system. The National Weather
Service measured more than 11 inches of rain in June at Dallas-Fort
Worth International Airport, about a half-inch shy of the 1928 record,
and the town of Marble Falls collected about 18 inches in one night last
week.
On Sunday, rain was falling on eastern sections of Kansas and Oklahoma
and wide areas of Missouri and Arkansas.
Voluntary evacuations were under way Saturday in Iola, Kan., said Corey
Schinstock, assistant city administrator.
"Various sections in the south of town are under water, and the water is
climbing," Schinstock said late Saturday. "We have had over 15 inches of
rain the last three days. ... All the creeks are flooding."
East of Iola, emergency workers used ropes and a harness to rescue two
teenagers from atop a pickup truck that became wedged against a tree at
a low-water crossing in Crawford State Park, the Crawford County
sheriff's department said.
Some homes and businesses in Neodesha, Kan., also were damaged by
flooding, and the water supply was contaminated, Highway Patrol Lt.
Chuck Yokley said.
Rain-swollen rivers in western Missouri were expected to continue rising
this week, emergency officials said. Tornado touchdowns were reported
Saturday in southwest Missouri. No injuries were reported and officials
were awaiting damage reports.
Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius declared a state of disaster emergency in
12 counties. The heaviest rainfall in the state was reported in Anderson
County, where 18 to 20 inches fell over 2 1/2 days.
Highways across wide areas of Oklahoma remained closed Sunday because of
flood damage.