Atleast three people have lost their lives and more
than 2,000 displaced after a heavy down fall
wreaked havoc causing flash floods in Texas.
Tornadoes struck, severely damaging an apartment
complex in Houston, Texas. A firefighter in Oklahoma was swept to his death
while trying to rescue people from high water and a woman in Tulsa died in a
traffic-related crash. In Texas, a man's body was recovered from a flooded area
along the Blanco River, which rose 26 feet in just one hour and left piles of
wreckage 20 feet high, authorities said.
"It looks pretty bad out there," said Hays
County emergency management coordinator Kharley Smith, describing the
destruction in Wimberley, a community that is part of a fast-growing corridor
between Austin and San Antonio. "We do have whole streets with maybe one
or two houses left on them and the rest are just slabs," she said, noting
late Sunday that three people from Wimberley still weren't accounted for.
From 350 to 400 homes were destroyed in Wimberley,
many of them washed away, Smith said. In nearby San Marcos, flooding had
damaged about 300 homes, she said.
Authorities also warned people to honor a night-time
curfew and stay away from damaged areas, since more rain was on the way,
threatening more floods with the ground saturated and waterways overflowing.
Rivers rose so fast that whole communities woke up
Sunday surrounded by water. The Blanco crested above 40 feet — more than triple
its flood stage of 13 feet — swamping Interstate 35 and forcing parts of the
busy north-south highway to close. Rescuers used pontoon boats and a helicopter
to pull people out.
Dallas also faced severe flooding from the Trinity
River, which was expected to crest near 40 feet Monday and lap at the
foundations of an industrial park. The Red and Wichita rivers also rose far
above flood stage.
Heather Ruiz returned from work early Sunday to
ankle-deep water and a muddy couch inside her home in San Marcos. She wasn't sure
what to do next. "Pick up the pieces and start all over I guess. Salvage
what can be salvaged and replace what needs to be replaced," Ruiz said.
This May is already the wettest on record for
several cities in the southern Plains states, with days still to go and more
rain on the way. So far this year, Oklahoma City has recorded 27.37 inches of
rain. Last year the state's capital got only 4.29 inches.