New Round Of Texas Flooding Strands 176 Passengers For Hours On Amtrak Train

Sunday, July 22nd 2007, 2:42 pm

By: News On 6

KNIPPA, Texas (AP) _ Storms dumped more than a foot of rain on parts of Texas, stranding more than 170 passengers on an Amtrak train for hours and forcing rescue crews elsewhere to pull at least 50 people to safety.

Water covering the tracks in Knippa, about 75 miles west of San Antonio, stopped a westbound Amtrak train carrying 176 passengers at around 9 a.m. Saturday, authorities said. Amtrak spokeswoman Vernae Graham said buses were driving the passengers to El Paso, where they were expected to board another train early Sunday.

The train never lost power, but buses could not reach it until early Saturday evening because of flooded roads, Graham said.

No serious injuries were reported in the state's latest round of flooding, which closed many roads and forced evacuations.

A woman who authorities say drove a minivan around road barricades south of Austin and became stuck in floodwaters with two children was charged with child endangerment.

Laura Delarosa, 30, was arrested Saturday after rescue workers were able to get her and the children _ a 9-year-old girl and a 7-year-old boy _ to safety.

East of San Antonio, a possible tornado damaged four businesses and at least one house, Guadalupe County Sheriff's Cpl. John Batey said.

As much as 17 inches of rain fell between 10 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. Saturday, said Pat McDonald, a National Weather Service forecaster.

The downpour overflowed Seco Creek and inundated the town of D'Hanis near San Antonio, Medina County Sheriff Randy Brown said. Many businesses were flooded with 3 to 4 feet of water.

Boats, fire trucks and helicopters rescued stranded residents, but only one minor injury was reported, Brown said.

``The water is going down. Things are getting better,'' Brown said.

Meanwhile, mudslides in Colorado forced about 30 people to evacuate their homes near Alpine, about 100 miles southwest of Denver, and roads into the area were closed.

No injuries were reported and a shelter was opened for displaced residents. The mudslides Saturday night were caused by several days of rain.