Swimmer's body found, raising Texas death toll from flooding to 3


Posted: Fri, 10 Sep 2010 08:41 PM - 8,460 Readers

By: Paul J. Weber


The body of one of two swimmers swept away by floodwaters has been found in the swollen Guadalupe River in New Braunfels, pushing to three the death toll from flooding in Texas caused by the remnants of Tropical Storm Hermine.

One person was killed in Oklahoma.

As the body of Derek Joel-Nelson Clemens, 23, of Baldwin, Mich., was found, the search continued for Nikos Paraskevopoulos, 28, of Alexandria, La., authorities said. Elsewhere in the state, authorities searched for two more people listed as missing.

Clemens and Paraskevopoulos disappeared Wednesday as flash floods fueled by the storm hit parts of Texas before moving north and east.

The Hermine-fueled flooding, caused by nearly 15 inches of rainfall over parts of the state, forced more than 100 high-water rescues.

Two motorists died when their vehicles were pushed off roads – a 49-year-old man, identified as James Calvin Wright, who apparently drove his truck into a flooded crossing near Alvarado, and another person who died in a vehicle submerged by water from a swollen creek in Killeen, north of Austin. The Killeen fatality was identified as Rashima Shaquel Copeland, the Temple Daily Telegram reported.

In the San Antonio area, authorities searched Thursday for a man who drove into a flooded road Wednesday. His wife and children were following in a separate car, and the wife called to tell him not to drive into the water, Bexar County spokeswoman Laura Jesse said. Two San Antonio television stations' helicopters were helping to search.

Authorities also resumed a search in Austin for a woman whose black Lexus sport utility vehicle was swept off the road by swollen Bull Creek.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry toured central parts of the state Thursday and issued a disaster declaration for 40 counties. Perry, pointing out that many of the dead and missing were swept away in their vehicles, urged people not to try to ford swollen creeks or flooded roadways.

"I don't care how big your pickup truck is or how good a driver you think you are," Perry said.

Perry told reporters that more than 1,200 people in the town of Holland, about 45 miles northeast of Austin, were without water because of storm damage. Authorities were trucking in bottled water, he said.

The storm also spawned several tornadoes in Texas and Oklahoma. As it moved into Oklahoma, widespread flooding was reported in the eastern part of the state where more than 10 inches of rain in some areas forced the closure of several roads. Gov. Brad Henry declared a state of emergency in 13 eastern Oklahoma counties.

One death was reported: a Stillwater man whose vehicle was swept off a road at a low-water crossing when he tried to drive across a rain-swollen creek in Adair County early Thursday. Officials identified the victim as Jackie D. Warford, 19.

The system spawned three tornadoes in southern Oklahoma, injuring two truck drivers and destroying several houses and a mobile home.

In northwest Arkansas, the storm dropped 3 to 5 inches of rain before moving east and led Ladies Professional Golf Association officials to cancel Thursday's scheduled Pro-Am before the P&G Northwest Arkansas Championship at Pinnacle Country Club in Rogers. About a dozen roads were closed in southwest Missouri because of flooding Thursday, though no injuries or damage was reported, officials said.




Read Full Story at: Paul J. Weber



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