Floodwaters Deluge Northeastern Oklahoma

MIAMI, Okla. -- Hundreds of residents fled their northeastern Oklahoma homes Tuesday with all they could carry as floodwaters pushed destruction downstream. One river carried an oil slick toward a reservoir that supplies water to several cities.

An estimated 42,000 gallons of thick crude oil that spilled from a Kansas refinery on Sunday floated with mud and debris down the Verdigris River, coating everything it touched with a slimy, smelly layer of goo.

The slick wasn't expected to affect water supply intakes well below the surface of Oklahoma's Oologah Lake, about 30 miles northeast of Tulsa, said Skylar McElhaney, a spokeswoman for the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality.

Evacuated residents are being advised to wear protective coverings when they return home to avoid touching the oil, which joins other causes of misery for thousands affected by flooding in Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas.

Torrential downpours led to fast-rising water early Tuesday in north and east Texas, prompting a couple of people to be rescued from water-logged vehicles.

A 70-year-old man was swept off the top of a car and held onto a tree for about four hours before being rescued by game wardens, said Richard Hill, Hunt County's emergency management coordinator.

No homes were flooded, Hill said Tuesday afternoon.

"We have had probably a good four hours of no rain, and the water is receding," he said. "Right now it's OK, but of course the forecast is for more torrential downpours tonight."

Portions of the bank along Fossil Creek in Haltom City continued to crumble into the water, bringing more worries for homeowners who saw their backyards disappearing.

Haltom City Mayor Bill Lanford said city staff is looking at the possibility of demolishing some of the homes where the backyards are collapsing, but details still must be worked out.

In northeastern Oklahoma, the Neosho River spilled over its banks, forcing at least 300 Miami residents out and flooding buildings and apartments at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College, where classes were canceled for the rest of the week.

"We never anticipated this," said Denia Payton, as relatives pulled kitchen cabinets and a dishwasher from her home.