Record rainfall floods parts of U.S., killing fourPublished: May 26, 2015 6:20 a.m. ET
At least four people were killed and thousands displaced from their homes after record rainfall caused heavy flooding in the south-central U.S. this weekend.
Texas and Oklahoma suffered the brunt of the damage as torrential rain and tornadoes swept away homes, roads and bridges. Officials said it was some of the most severe flooding in recent memory, with high-water marks up to 5 feet in some homes in Texas.
“A lot of the roads and bridges have been completely washed away,” said Keli Cain, a spokeswoman for the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management.
In Oklahoma, officials reported three deaths. A firefighter in Claremore died while attempting a water rescue, and in Tulsa, a 33-year-old woman died in a traffic-related accident. A 37-year-old man from Sapulpa also died.
The firefighter was identified as Jason Farley, according to the Facebook page for the Claremore Fire Department. Mr. Farley likely drowned when he stepped into a storm drain while trying to rescue residents from a home, according to local news reports.
Another man was found dead in San Marcos, Texas, according to a posting on the city’s website. No information about his identity or cause of death was available, the posting said. Tom Vinger, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Public Safety, said there was no confirmed death toll yet for Texas because most of the numbers were being handled at the local level. [
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