Hundreds flee major flooding in Texas

WICHITA FALLS, Texas (AP) - Hundreds of residents near the overflowing Wichita and Brazos rivers remained evacuated from their homes in north Texas on Sunday, uncertain of when they could return.

At least 200 people were still displaced from their homes near the Brazos River in Parker County. Some homes sustained minor damages while up to four feet of water had seeped into others, said Shawn Scott, Parker County emergency management coordinator.

Some residents had been allowed to return Saturday, but hours later authorities encouraged them to seek higher ground as the lake runoff moved downstream, Scott said.

Floodwaters weren't expected to go down until later Sunday. But the threat of more rain loomed, he said.

"It's a continuous up and down situation," Scott said. "This could be ongoing for the next few days."

Water rose overnight by 4 feet in one Wichita Falls neighborhood where 175 people left, although water had started gradually receding in another neighborhood of the city in north Texas, city spokesman Barry Levy said.

City officials had urged residents to leave Friday and weren't sure when they could return because of concerns about contaminants in the water, he said.

Storms on the southern Plains have claimed 11 lives in Texas since more than a week ago, and two Texans were missing. Forecasters expected rain to continue dumping on already sopped parts of north Texas up through Missouri as part of a lingering storm system. The National Weather Service measured more than 11 inches of rain in June at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, about a half-inch shy of the 1928 record, and the town of Marble Falls collected about 18 inches in one night last week.

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