Severe weather, floods plague Texas, = Southeast

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by Paul J. Weber, The Associated = Press

updated March 19, 2008 7:49 am

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Dallas =96 = Airlines faced=20 passenger backlogs Wednesday from hundreds of flights grounded by = storms=20 that chased people from flooded homes and deluged roads in the = nation's=20 midsection, killing at least two people in Missouri and sweeping a = teen=20 down a drainage pipe in Texas.

The National Weather Service posted flood and flash flood = warnings from=20 Texas to Ohio, with tornado watches in Arkansas, Louisiana, = Mississippi=20 and Tennessee.

Emergency officials in Mesquite, Texas, searched for a = 14-year-old boy=20 apparently swept away by floodwaters as he and a friend played in = a creek.=20 The friend was able to swim to safety, authorities said.

In northern Arkansas, rescuers searched for a man whose truck = was=20 believed to have been swept from a low-water bridge in West Fork.=20 Authorities found only the vehicle.

Heavy rain began falling Monday and just kept coming. = Forecasters said=20 parts of Missouri could get 10 inches or more. The storms were = expected to=20 finally stop Wednesday.

Cape Girardeau County had received nearly 8 inches of rain by = Tuesday=20 afternoon, trapping some residents in their homes. About 50 roads = were=20 closed in Christian County after 7 inches of rain fell.

More than 6 inches of rain drenched areas around Dallas, = including=20 record rainfall at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, where = more=20 than half of the 950 scheduled flights Tuesday were canceled.

Winds of more than 100 mph were briefly reported at the = airport, which=20 received a single-day record of 2.35 inches of rain, according to = the=20 National Weather Service. The previous high of 1.52 inches was set = in=20 1984, the weather service said.

At least 11 more cancellations were expected Wednesday morning, = and=20 airport officials warned passengers to brace for more delays and=20 cancellations as airlines rebuild their schedules.

"This is one of the most vicious thunderstorms DFW has seen in = quite=20 some time, especially its ongoing intensity," airport spokesman = Ken Capps=20 said.

Federal Aviation Administration officials evacuated the = airport's west=20 tower for about 15 minutes Tuesday morning after seeing a funnel = cloud. By=20 Tuesday night, the airport was accepting about 50 arrivals and = departures=20 an hour =97 less than half the usual 120 flights that use the = airport's=20 seven runways every hour, officials said.

Hundreds of people in Lancaster, south of Dallas, were advised = to=20 evacuate their homes as the Ten Mile Creek rose. By evening, the = creek=20 waters had receded. One woman was rescued from her yard and four = people=20 were rescued from their vehicles, city spokeswoman Ciciely Hickmon = said.

In Arkansas, residents in parts of Baxter, Madison, and Sharp = counties=20 were evacuated because of rising floodwaters, said Tommy Jackson, = a=20 spokesman for the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management.

The Spring River was rising at a rate of 6 inches per hour = Tuesday, and=20 debris flowing in it included full-size trees. Officials said = dangerous=20 flows were occurring in Mammoth Spring and Salem, where the river = was out=20 of its banks.

To the north, Gov. Matt Blunt activated the Missouri National = Guard on=20 Tuesday as high water closed hundreds of roads.

About 300 of the 900 homes in Piedmont, Mo., were evacuated = when the=20 McKenzie Creek flowed over its banks and caused flooding 2 to 3 = feet deep=20 in the center of the town, about 125 miles south of St. Louis. = Dozens of=20 people were rescued in about 15 to 20 boat trips.

Up to 30 homes were evacuated in Winona, and some residents of = Cape=20 Girardeau were trapped in their homes, according to the State = Emergency=20 Management Agency. In Ellington, as many as 50 homes and half the=20 businesses were evacuated, officials said.

The body of an 81-year-old man was found in the water at = Ellington,=20 said Missouri State Water Patrol Lt. Nicholas Humphrey. A = 21-year-old=20 state Department of Transportation worker was killed near = Springfield when=20 his dump truck was hit by a tractor-trailer as he helped out in a = flooded=20 area, officials said.

Scott and Marilyne Peterson and their 25-year-old son, Scott = Jr.,=20 scurried out of their mobile home in Piedmont after watching the = water=20 rise 3 feet in five minutes. The family had just enough time to = grab some=20 essentials, a few clothes and the family dog.

"You didn't have time to worry," Scott Peterson Sr. said. "You = just=20 grab what you can and go and you're glad the people are = OK."

=20

Associated Press writers Betsy Taylor in Piedmont, Mo., and = Chuck=20 Bartels in Little Rock, Ark., contributed to this = report.

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