Flooding Causes Evacuation Of Homes

Monday, June 11th 2007, 11:00 am

By: News On 6

DEWEY, Okla. (AP) _ More than two-dozen people were evacuated and nearly 30 more rescued by boat Monday after a rain-swollen creek jumped its banks and surged into several neighborhoods.

One firefighter was injured while battling a blaze inside one of the partly flooded homes. He was released from the hospital Monday afternoon, Dewey Fire Chief Tom Smith said.

The flooding of Coon Creek caused the evacuations of a mobile home park and several neighborhoods in Dewey, a town of about 3,200 six miles north of Bartlesville. As much as four feet of water poured into some homes.

Damage was worst on the south side of town, said Gordon Higbee, operations officer for the Washington County Emergency Management Agency.

By early Monday night, the flooding had subsided and utility crews were preparing to restore electricity to homes in the Lakeshore Trailer Park, where high water inundated transformers and knocked out power, said Kary Cox, director of Washington County emergency management.

The Red Cross opened a shelter for those who had to leave their residences, but many had begun returning home, Cox said.

``Most of the problem areas this morning were due to localized rainfall and all the tributaries, streams and lakes,'' Cox said. ``Most of that has either receded or is receding.

``We will have to wait until daylight to go in and do some detailed damage assessment and see how much there is.''

Several rounds of thunderstorms, including one that stalled over the area, dumped between six and eight inches of rain on the area in 12 hours and caused area lakes and streams to swell.

In Bartlesville, residents along the Caney River were bracing for possible flooding. The Caney River was expected to crest to 17.7 feet by Monday evening, according to a bulletin from the National Weather Service in Tulsa. Flood stage is 13 feet.

U.S. Highway 75 and Oklahoma 123 were closed between Dewey and Bartlesville, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol said. Oklahoma 10 between U.S. 75 and Oklahoma 99 also was closed, the OHP said.

State Highway 10 between U.S. 75 and U.S. 169 also was closed on Monday afternoon, according to the Nowata County sheriff's office said.

The weather service also said the Verdigris River near Lenapah would rise above flood stage later in the day, causing moderate flooding mainly affecting farmland and rural roads.

Both rivers were expected to fall below flood stage by Tuesday morning.

The potential for more heavy rainfall across northeastern Oklahoma will continue through this weekend, said Joe Sellers, meteorologist with the weather service.

Watch the video: Flood Facts

Watch the video: Flooding Damage

Watch the video: Flooding Rescues

Watch the video: Community Stranded By Flooding

WEB EXTRA: Click here for SKYNEWS 6 video of the house fire.

WEB EXTRA: Click here for more video from SKYNEWS 6 of Dewey flooding.

Related Stories:

6/11/2007 Residents Stranded By Flooding

6/11/2007 Flooding From 3,000 Feet

6/11/2007 Flood Victims