The Nation - News from June 5, 1989

Rain-soaked Ft. Wayne, Ind., was under a flood emergency, with thousands of sandbags in place around the city, while thunderstorms raked Texas and rumbled to the East Coast. More than 3 inches of rain fell in southeastern Colorado, as showers and thunderstorms extended to Wyoming, Missouri, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee and dotted the Atlantic Coast states. Powerful thunderstorms lashed sections of West, North and northeast Texas for a second consecutive day, producing tornadoes, 60-m.p.h. winds and heavy rains that swelled rivers. In Ft. Wayne, Mayor Paul Helmke declared a flood emergency Saturday after 4 1/2 inches of rain fell in little more than an hour. Workers placed almost 5,000 sandbags around the city early into the morning, said a spokeswoman for the mayor’s office.