Texas floods like a tsunami, says governor
TEXAS governor Greg Abbott likened the ferocity of flash flooding that killed at least three people to a tsunami‚ and authorities said a dam had given way in a state park.
Abbott declared states of disaster in 24 counties and flew over the area south of Austin to assess the damage caused by tornadoes‚ heavy rainfall‚ thunderstorms and flooding that forced evacuations and rooftop rescues and left thou- sands of residents without electricity at the weekend.
“This is the biggest flood this area of Texas has ever seen‚” Abbott said late on Monday.
“It is absolutely massive – the relentless tsunami-type power of this wave of water,” he said.
He described homes that were “completely wiped off the map” by the dangerous weather system that struck Texas and Oklahoma.
Authorities in Bastrop County‚ on the southeastern outskirts of Austin‚ reported in a Twitter feed that Lake Dam had failed in Bastrop State Park. Residents in the water’s path were urged to seek higher ground.
Accuweather.com said more rain was forecast across the eastern half of Texas and Oklahoma‚ bringing flash floods‚ tornadoes and winds of more than 105km/h.
The National Weather Service reported 11.5cm of rain fell in 90 minutes at Marquette‚ in central Kansas‚ washing out roads.
The bodies of a 14-year-old boy and his dog were found in a storm drain in the Dallas suburb of DeSoto on Monday‚ police said. Two other people killed in the storm were described as an unidentified man found dead in San Marcos‚ Texas‚ and a firefighter who was swept into a storm drain in Oklahoma.
The New York Times said a Tulsa‚ Oklahoma‚ woman also died on Saturday after her car hydroplaned on a highway.
Twelve people were listed as missing in various parts of Texas. – Reuters