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Texas Rain Storms Force High-Water Rescues

Posted on: Thursday, 29 July 2004, 06:00 CDT

LANCASTER, Texas - City officials declared a local disaster Thursday after thunderstorms dumped more than a foot of rain on this Dallas suburb, damaging as many as 200 homes and forcing nearly 20 high-water rescues.

With creeks still swollen and soil soaked, residents across north Texas were bracing for the possibility of more rain.

"If we get any precipitation, it's going to aggravate all of the water problems that are going on," said Gary Woodall, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

Some areas south of Dallas received more than 13 inches of rain in the overnight deluge that stranded motorists, closed highways and knocked out power to thousands.

A motorist was killed when his pickup truck knocked over a utility pole in a weather-related wreck in a Dallas neighborhood and live wires fell on his vehicle. The victim could not be pulled from his vehicle for some time.

An estimated 45,000 north Texas customers were without electricity at the peak of the storms, said utility spokeswoman Eliza Anderson, but most power had been restored by late Thursday.

Lancaster officials evacuated several neighborhoods and estimated there were nearly 20 high-water rescues, some by boat.

"I don't really have anything to compare it to," said city spokeswoman Opal Robertson. "We haven't had this much rain in that short period of time."

State officials were helping survey the damage to determine whether the city qualifies for state assistance, Robertson said.

It was the second flood in about a month at the home of Fred and Eileen Odom and their five children. Their 13-year-old was sprawled on the carpet reading around midnight when he noticed his elbow was wet.

A short time later, the carpet was sopping and floodwaters were ankle-deep on the kitchen linoleum as the Odoms put up valuables and gathered their children in the center of the house. Outside, water knocked over a heavy basketball goal and covered the wheels of a minivan.

"You couldn't see anything. You couldn't see the yard. All you could see was water, rushing water," said Eileen Odom, 42.

Lancaster's police station also flooded and a leaking roof collapsed the ceiling of the 911 call center. Calls were rerouted temporarily.

Jerry Johns, president of the Southwestern Insurance Information Service, said preliminary estimates for damages covered by homeowners policies totaled $17 million to $20 million in north Texas. Such policies cover damage caused by falling rain - such as leaking roofs - but not flooding, Johns said.

In southern Dallas County, authorities received more than 80 calls for high-water rescues, Sgt. Don Peritz said. It was unclear how many people were rescued. Parts of Interstates 20, 35 and 45 were closed for a time.

In the northeast Fort Worth suburb of Haltom City, crews rescued a 16-year-old boy who had been swept into a flood-swollen creek.

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