Fort Worth firefighter Andrew Hobbs brings in a resident and her dog from the flooding at the Skyline Mobile Home Park in Haltom City. There were several rescues and homes damaged in the overnight flooding.
Photo by Glen E. Ellman/www.FortWorthFire.com

***ANIMAL RESCUE UPDATES FROM KAT 5 AT END OF ARTICLE

Updated: 06-19-2007 10:21:47 AM
By ANGELA K. BROWN
Associated Press Writer

GAINESVILLE, Texas --

Torrential overnight rainfall flooded a handful of North Texas towns Monday, killing at least five people and stranding residents and their pets on the roofs of their homes.

A 5-year-old girl and her grandmother were swept to their deaths after the family's mobile home was carried off its foundation and lodged against a bridge above a swollen creek in this city along the Oklahoma border, said Cpl. Mike Linnell of the Texas Department of Public Safety.

The girl's 2-year-old sister was among at least five people still missing in the Gainesville area.

In the Fort Worth suburb of Haltom City, a 4-year-old girl died after her family attempted to escaped the flooding in a boat that floated by, but it flipped over and the girl was lost into the rushing water, KTVT-TV reported.

The girl's mother, Natasha Collins, told KXAS-TV of Dallas that the last time she saw her daughter was "when the current took her out of my arms. We reached the boat, and the boat capsized."

Rescue crews arrived later to help the Collins family. Alexanderia Collins' body was found more than two hours later.

A woman died in Sherman, about 60 miles northwest of Dallas, after her car stalled in rising water and was swept away, Sherman police Sgt. Bruce Dawsey said. A 74-year-old man also died in Grayson County after driving into high water, the Dallas Morning News reported.

About 125 residents of a Sherman nursing home were evacuated, and an unknown number of people were rescued from an office building where the roof started caving in, Dawsey said.

In Gainesville, aerial video showed families awaiting rescue on their roofs, some having hacked their way to the outside from their attics. Some were joined by their dogs. Three mobile homes were washed out of the park.

About 500 homes were flooded in and around the city. At one point, about 450 displaced residents had sought refuge at two temporary shelters. That number dwindled throughout the day as many arranged to stay with friends and relatives.

About 100 mobile homes in Haltom City were inundated and many were washed off their foundations, emergency officials said.

"When I looked out the window, water was up to the bottom of the window and the current was so fast houses were washing away, said Haltom City resident Rachel Hawkes. "You could hear people screaming but we couldn't get out to help."

About 37,000 people live in Sherman and about 16,500 in Gainesville.

Amtrak's daily round-trip service between Oklahoma City and Fort Worth was canceled because of flooding, and passengers were placed on buses, said Joe Kyle of the Oklahoma Department of Transportation. Fort Worth-based Burlington Northern Santa Fe, which owns the rail line, will decide when service can resume, Kyle said.

Authorities closed Interstate 35 from Gainesville to the Oklahoma state line for several hours because of flooding, the Department of Public Safety said.

The National Weather Service said rain fell at a rate of an inch every 15 minutes in some places early Monday.

"We get heavy rains in North Texas, but the rate, the amount, the duration and the coverage of this are just amazing," said Gary Woodall, the warning-coordination meteorologist for the weather service office in Fort Worth.

Only isolated thunderstorms were forecast in the area Monday and Tuesday.

Torrential rains also flooded creeks and rivers across central and southern Oklahoma, sweeping a truck off a bridge near Ada and forcing the evacuation of some homes in Caddo. Rescue workers plucked several people from vehicles trapped by rising floodwaters. As much as 3 to 6 inches of rain fell in some areas, and the National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning for seven counties on Monday.

___

Associated Press writers Rich Matthews and Terry Wallace in Dallas, and Sean Murphy Oklahoma City contributed to this report.

http://cms.firehouse.com/web/online/News/At-Least-Five-Dead-in-North-Texas-Flooding/46$55133
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ANIMAL RESCUE AFTER TX FLOODING

Sherman, Texas Animal Control said today that as of now animal rescue is not needed. They were prepared with mobile units to evacuate animals prior to the storm. Only one dog remains with the authorities waiting for the owners to secure a place to live having been displaced by the flooding.

Gainsville, Texas Animal Control is taking numbers of animal rescues today to coordinate rescue needed. KAT 5 is awaiting a call to confirm what they need.

Noah's Ark, the city contracted local shelter, say that they are already inundated with owner surrenders & drop offs due to the flooding. Noah's Ark employee, Ryon Williams, said that a cat was just dropped off that was found in the flood waters. Noah's Ark said that they desperately need individuals or shelters willing to take in animals coming in from the flood. They are a kill shelter & they are already full & are expecting more. Transport help will be needed if placements are found.

Please look at their website. It does not yet reflect the new animals but it will shortly:

http://noahs-ark-care.org/

All animals at their facility receive their shots & are fixed. KAT 5 will put up on our site more of these animals as we receive information.

Noah's Ark: 940-665-9800
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UPDATE;
Haltom City Animal Control needs fosters for pets of displaced families until they have a place to stay. Transporters needed as well. More detailed information to be added here as it comes in.

Pet owners are at the shelter looking for their pets.