Widespread Flooding Kills Nine, Causes Travel Havoc
At least 9 have been killed in MO and KY; the storm is expected to move east.
March 19, 2008 — -- Heavy rain and high-powered winds have caused severe flooding from Texas to Ohio, killing at least four people in Missouri and five in Kentucky.
Near Munfordville, Ky., this morning, state police say five peoplewere killed in a crash in heavy rain on Interstate 65. The Associated Press says a tractor-trailer, a pickup truck and avan collided in the southbound lanes in Hart County.
Floods closed hundreds of Missouri roads and Gov. Matt Blunt activated the Missouri National Guard Tuesday.
Three hundred of the 900 homes in the town of Piedmont, Mo., were evacuated after heavy rains left 2 to 3 feet of water in town.
Scott and Marilyne Peterson and their son, Scott Jr., told The Associated Press they left their mobile home in Piedmont after watching the water rise 3 feet in five minutes.
"You didn't have time to worry," Scott Peterson Sr. said. "You just grab what you can and go and you're glad the people are OK."
Two of the dead were in Greene County, Mo., in the Springfield area; the latest, a 67-year-old man, drove his car into a flooded creek a mile east of the city.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol says Ronald Rudd's car was swept 600 feet downstream Tuesday night and became lodged in debris.
Rudd's 69-year-old wife, Dorothy Rudd, suffered minor injuries and was taken to St. John's Hospital in Springfield.
Authorities found the body of an 81-year-old man in the floodwaters in Ellington, Mo., and a 21-year-old state Department of Transportation worker was killed near Springfield when his dump truck was hit by a tractor-trailer as he was helping out in a flooded area, officials said.
The storm system has affected several states and the National Weather Service posted flood and flash flood warnings from Texas to Ohio, with tornado watches in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee, according to The Associated Press.
The flooding has forced evacuations in Lancaster, Texas, which is just south of Dallas.
There rescue boats helped trapped residents escape after water burst through 10-mile creek banks. Officials asked more than 400 families to evacuate, while in the Dallas suburb of Mesquite, authorities continued their searched for a 14-year-old boy, who was washed down a drainage pipe.
More than a dozen people and a Department of Public Safety helicopter were scouring a half-mile section along a creek where the boy was last seen, according to the AP.
A friend of the boy, who was able to swim to safety, said the missing teen was playing near fast-moving water when he disappeared.
Although water had receded a bit, brush and debris posed difficulties, Mesquite Fire Department spokesperson Mark Noble told the Associated Press.
"We are still at the scene searching and will continue to do so," Noble said.
The rain-soaked Dallas area received more than 6 inches of rain, breaking records at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. More than half of the airport's 950 scheduled flights Tuesday were canceled, where wind gusts of 100 mph briefly were reported.
"This is one of the most vicious thunderstorms that we've seen at this airport in a very, very long time," said airport spokesperson Ken Capps.
Federal Aviation Administration officials evacuated the airport's west tower for about 15 minutes Tuesday morning after seeing a funnel cloud.
More flight cancellations are expected this morning and airport officials have warned passengers to brace for more delays and cancellations as the airlines rebuild their schedules, the AP said.
But the Dallas area wasn't the only place in the Lone Star State that saw extreme weather.
In El Paso, winds were so strong that a gust of wind blew the roof off a gymnasium, while a dust storm from Mexico that mixed with the weather system caused it to rain mud, according to San Antonio residents.
In northern Arkansas, rescuers searched for a man whose truck was apparently swept away in the town of West Fork near a low-water bridge. So far, authorities only have found his vehicle, the AP said.
The water-weary states will receive some reprieve today as forecasters said the heavy rain, which began falling Monday, will ebb, but not before parts of Missouri could get 10 inches or more.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.