Flood Waters Force Residents From Their Homes

Flood waters came up fast in Okmulgee on Sunday. News On 6 radar showed the city got eight to 10 inches of rain Sunday afternoon. The flooding in Okmulgee didn't have anything to do with a swollen

Sunday, August 19th 2007, 7:35 pm

By: News On 6

Flood waters came up fast in Okmulgee on Sunday. News On 6 radar showed the city got eight to 10 inches of rain Sunday afternoon. The flooding in Okmulgee didn't have anything to do with a swollen river or a broken dam, just too much water at once. The News On 6â€™s Joshua Brakhage reports the city's storm drains couldn't empty fast enough, leaving drivers and homeowners stranded and in need of rescue.

One Pennsylvanian was just passing through Okmulgee when he suddenly had to outrun flooded streets. Now his luggage is soaked and his family is recovering at the fire station.

"We're flooded all over town. The water is starting to go down. But as you can see by looking around you, there's water everywhere. Traffic flow's a big problem,â€ said Okmulgee Police Chief Joe Prentice.

Streets around downtown are barely passable, though some decided to take the chance. Highway 75 was under four feet of water at one point beneath a railroad overpass. Floodwater pushed a barrel half-full of concrete to the other side of the road. And rushing water created mudslides, washing out an embankment and leaving a muddy mess for a bulldozer to clean up.

The water line on the one home got up to at least a couple of feet. That was enough to soak their floorboards. In fact, a wooden door inside the house won't open any further, because the floor has already started to bubble up.

"Big humps on the floor, you can't walk on the floor, without stepping on a hill,â€ said Bettye Parker.

She says her family may have escaped unharmed, but all the furniture inside her house is ruined.

"We don't have anything,â€ Parker said.

Even more folks had to be evacuated from their homes.

"It caught us by surprise,â€ said Prentice.

Prentice mobilized everyone he could to help with rescues and rerouting traffic. He's just one of many hoping this water finds somewhere else to flow.

The good news is the water has receded in most places Sunday, but the Red Cross is still being called in to help victims flooded out of their homes.

Watch the video: Flood Waters Leave Drivers And Homeowners Stranded