Tuesday, June 24, 1997
Brownwood man dies in area flooding
By LORETTA FULTON Regional Editor
A 61-year-old Brownwood man drowned and others had to be evacuated
at Lake Coleman and in Eastland as unprecedented summertime rainfall
continues to plague the Big Country.
The only ones happy were seven dogs in the Eastland pound that
got an early release because of a fear they would drown when water
rose two feet in their pens.
"I just opened all the cages and they followed me along
in single file," said Police Chief Cecil Funderburgh. "I
guess I looked like the Pied Piper or something."
In Brown County, the body of Sherman Edward Hendrix was found
Monday afternoon about 16 hours after his car submerged at a low
water crossing near Hogg Creek on County Road 411. He was pronounced
dead at 2 p.m. Monday.
While the recent rainfall has kept temperatures down in the
area, it is causing problems not normally associated with this
time of year.
But hope is on the way. Meteorologist Mike Decker with the
National Weather Service in San Angelo said there is a 20 percent
chance of rain tonight and Wednesday but that after that "it
looks like we should have a break."
The system that caused all the rain has moved into Oklahoma,
he said.
Decker said the unusual patterns are caused by El Nino, a warming
of the southern Pacific Ocean that changes atmospheric conditions
worldwide.
When the warming occurs, "it normally gives us some additional
rainfall," Decker said.
Area residents are about ready for the additional rainfall
to stop. Flood water from the Leon River was slowly receding Monday
afternoon in Eastland but not before it chased residents from
their homes, disrupted businesses and blocked several streets
and roads.
Funderburgh, the police chief, said two boys, ages 12 and 13,
had to be rescued from the river after they set out on a homemade
raft.
"They were stranded up in a tree until the fire department
got 'em out," Funderburgh said.
Observers said the situation in Eastland was the worst in 40
years. Eastland recorded 5.40 inches of rain and other areas of
the county caught almost as much.
Before dawn Monday, 20 people were evacuated from North Seaman
and North Lamar streets in Eastland. Although those evacuees went
to relatives' homes, First Baptist Church opened a shelter just
in case.
Water was four feet deep in a house on West Frost Street and
that street was still blocked by high water Monday afternoon.
Texas Highway 6 was covered with water at the Interstate. Businesses
at Highway 6 and Interstate 20 had water in them as did at least
two businesses in the Shady Oak Shopping Center on East Main.
The Nunnley Law Office on East Main was a lake as was Maverick
football stadium.
The Leon River was a mile wide from the edge of town to the
interstate. Lake Patrolman Gary Crew said Lake Leon was running
six feet over the morning glory and still rising.
In Ballinger, some people were evacuated on the northeast side
of town as both Elm Creek and the Colorado River overflowed their
banks. Ballinger recorded 6.78 inches of rain.
The City Park and swimming pool both flooded in the storm,
but the worst apparently is over. Decker, with the National Weather
Service, said both Elm Creek and the Colorado River crested Monday
afternoon.
"If no additional rainfall occurs, the river will fall
below the flood stage Tuesday," Decker said.
About 20 people staying in the Quail Creek RV Park at Lake
Coleman had to be evacuated as water rose to the top of a retaining
wall. The lake area has received 5.35 inches of rain since Sunday.
The city of Coleman received 4.6 inches of rain and experienced
minor street flooding.
In Comanche County flooding continued to be a problem Monday
with some roads remaining closed.
Although some shoreline residents of Lake Fort Phantom anxiously
watched the overfilled lake encroach on some nearby lowlands,
no one reported any houseflooding Monday. An absence of rainfall
since the early morning helped ease their minds - though the lake
continued to overflow its spillway, and another heavy rainfall
on the lake's watershed remains a risk.
Monday morning, City Manager Roy McDaniel proclaimed the city
in "good shape" despite the recent rains. While Lake
Abilene was also full, city officials expected no flooding along
Elm Creek. McDaniel received no reports of waters seeping into
any home or business.
In Stephens County, one bridge was out in a low-lying area
on County Road 145 east of the Wayland community in the southern
part of the county.
In Brown County, authorities began searching for Hendrix after
a passenger in his car, Virgil Howard Doucette, 38, of May, managed
to safely reach high ground and call 911.
According to the Department of Public Safety, Hendrix was headed
south on County Road 411 about 10 p.m. Sunday, when he attempted
to cross an area where Hogg Creek ran over the road due to the
heavy rain.
Hendrix's body was found about a mile downstream. DPS officer
Stan Pachall investigated the accident.
More than 5 inches of rain fell in Brown County during the
24-hour period starting at 7 a.m. Sunday. The rain resulted in
the temporary closing of several county roads and Brownwood's
Riverside Park on the banks of the Pecan Bayou.
Lake Brownwood was reported to be 3 feet 2 inches above the
spillway Monday and was closed to boaters.
As of Monday, Abilene had received 6.86 inches of rain in June,
compared to the normal of 2.17, Decker said. Total for the year
is 15.90 inches compared to a normal of 11.28 through June 23,
he said.
<I>(Correspondents Beth Hallmark, Maybelle Trout, Suzanne
Gaines, Julie Fore, Randy Turner and Jim Eaton contributed to
this report.)<I>
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Copyright ©1997,
Abilene Reporter-News / Texnews / E.W. Scripps Publications
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