Flooding Blocks Roads as Heavy Rains Pound Midwest

Up to eight inches of rain sent rivers surging out of their banks over the southern Plains, forcing evacuations and blocking roads in Texas and Arkansas.

One National Guardsman was killed and another guardsman and a teen-age girl were missing after their vehicles were washed away in Texas.

Northward along a line of wet weather extending into New England, a busy Chicago freeway was closed by deep water, and two rivers in southeastern Michigan rose to flood stage.

High Winds in Texas

Scattered wind damage also was reported in Texas, where gusts hit 45 m.p.h.

“The door blew open, and I was dumb enough to answer it,” said Kevin Murray, who works for a company a block from Addison Airport north of Dallas. Three airport hangars lost siding and roofing in the storm.

Overnight rainfall totals of four to six inches were common across Texas, with 8.91 inches recorded in 24 hours at Fredericksburg, 8.41 at Maypearl and 8.70 at Tyler, along with 8.05 inches at Star City, Ark., and 4.14 inches at Hugo, Okla., the National Weather Service said.

Two soldiers were rescued early Saturday after their National Guard field ambulance was washed from a low-water crossing into swollen Hinson Creek at Ft. Hood, Tex., near Waco. But the body of another guardsman was found in late afternoon, and searchers continued looking for a second missing man, said Maj. David Cottom.

A 14-year-old girl who was delivering newspapers with her family was missing after their station wagon was swept into Lake Buchanan near Burnet, Tex. Her father and mother escaped with minor injuries.

Residents Evacuated

Elsewhere in central Texas, volunteer firefighters in Center Point and Comfort evacuated residents along the Guadalupe River, authorities said.

Both the Pedernales and Llano rivers were at or near flood stage, and campers were urged to leave the Pedernales Falls State Park in Blanco County, west of Austin.

Chicago’s Dan Ryan Expressway, considered the nation’s busiest highway, was closed by water for several hours, police said.

In Michigan, about 1.7 inches of rain was recorded at Detroit Metropolitan Airport in three hours Saturday, pushing the Middle Rouge River at Garden City to a crest one foot above flood stage.