The Final Call

Death toll rises after storms barrel through Plains, Midwest

By AP | Last updated: May 29, 2015 - 10:25:23 AM

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Jeremy Steele, left, Ric Jaime, center, and Keith McNabb salvage belongings at their friend Mike Cook’s house near Wimberley, Texas, May 24. About 350 homes in the town of Wimberley were washed away by flash floods along the Blanco River, which rose 26 feet in just one hour and left piles of wreckage 20 feet high, Texas authorities said. Photo: AP/Wide World photos

Flooding in Pflugerville, Texas, May 25, 2015. Photo: Heath Muhammad

Record rainfall wreaked havoc across a swath of the Plains and Midwest on May 24, causing flash floods in normally dry riverbeds, spawning tornadoes and forcing at least 2,000 people in Texas from their homes.

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 May 24 that three people from Wimberley still weren’t accounted for.

From 350 to 400 homes were destroyed in Wimberley, many of them washed away, Ms. 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. (AP)