TORNADOES, thunderstorms and flash floods struck the south-central region over the weekend in parts of Texas and Oklahoma, killing nine people and sending rescuers searching for 12 missing, including several young children.
Flash flood warnings were in effect early Tuesday, May 26 for parts of eastern Texas and much of Western Arkansas, and tornado watches were issued for parts of Louisiana, Missouri and Arkansas. Tornado watches were also issued for parts of Louisiana, Missouri, and Arkansas. The power was out to nearly 70,000 people in the Houston area.
Over the Memorial Day long weekend, at least nine were confirmed dead over the mega storms and flooding, including a 14-year-old boy in Texas who was found inside a storm drain and believed to have drowned.
A homecoming queen and student council president, Alyssa Ramirez, was on her way home from her high school’s prom when her car was swept away by floodwaters in Devine, Texas, about 35 miles southwest of San Antonio.
Four people were confirmed dead in Oklahoma, including a Claremore firefighter who died during a water rescue, and a 33-year-old woman who died in a storm-related traffic accident.
The nasty weather left Houston streets flooded, cresting bayous and leaving tens of thousands of residents with power. Forecasters say the storm is en route to Louisiana, where it could dump as much as a half-foot of rain on the southern and central portions of the state.
“We are hampered by not being able to go into the areas until the waters recede, and these are visual inspections from the outside until we can get enough structural experts to accompany our inspectors,” said Houston Mayor Annise Parker. “We have 1,000 properties that we visually inspected. We believe that there may be as many as 4,000 with significant damage.”
In Wimberley, Texas, a small town between Austin and San Antonio, reported the most people missing. Up to 72 structures were washed away, and 1,200 were damaged, said emergency management coordinator Kharley Smith.
“Waters rose so quickly [on Sunday] that roads turned to torrents, and 1,000 people were forced to evacuate,” Smith said. “We have roads full of slabs now.”
The missing persons search and rescue was complicated by another round of severe weather. At least eight tornadoes were reported in Texas on Monday, including one that touched down on the LBJ Ranch in Johnson City, the National Weather Service reported. Tornadoes were suspected in the death of several in both Texas and Oklahoma.
In North Texas, forecasters warned of the possibility of the weather phenomenon known as “derecho”—wind damage of more than 240 miles, coupled with wind gusts of 75 mph or greater. Oklahoma also faced a flash-flood warning, stretching from the Texas-Mexico border to western Tennessee and northern Missouri. Forecasters also warned that widespread heavy showers and thunderstorms could occur across most of Oklahoma, central and eastern Texas Louisiana and Arkansas, which possibly induce damaging wind gusts, hail and isolated twisters.
The weather system also triggered 36 reported tornadoes in Kansas, Nebraska, Illinois, Iowa, and Colorado, according to the National Weather Service. Weather Channel meteorologist Kevin Roth said that while the twister threat would persist in some areas in the early week, it would be “significantly lower than over the weekend.”
Texas Gov. Greg Abbot, who was once Attorney General, declared a state of disaster in 24 counties, including Hays and Houston, where heavy winds damaged an apartment building and left two injured on Sunday. Abbot termed the heavy storm as “a relentless tsunami-type power,” urging communities downstream to monitor flood levels and take the threat seriously.
The weekend’s flooding was described as “catastrophic.” Memorial Day events in Texas’ Hays County were cancelled, saying in a statement that the flooding was “the most severe in recent memory.”
“This continues to be an extremely dangerous and life-threatening situation,” the National Weather Service confirmed.
The storms were the latest in what has been a particularly wet year for the Plains, with several towns and cities already breaking their all-time wettest month records. 3.3 inches of rain fell in Dallas on Sunday, making it the wettest May in 117 years. Even Oklahoma City added to what is already its wettest ever month, according to the Weather Channel.
In Ciudad Acuña, Mexico, about 200 miles to the west, another 13 people were reported dead when a ferocious tornado ripped through the border town of 180,000. The city is situated across the border from Del Rio, Texas.
The storms were expected to calm significantly during the rest of the week. On late Sunday evening, May 24, much of the storms’ fury had reportedly dissipated. (With reports from NBC News, CNN)
(www.asianjournal.com)
(LA Midweek May 27- June 3, 2015 Sec. A pg.5)
