June 14, 2010

Let's see. What do you suppose could be making flooding so much worse? Hmm... couldn't be over-development combined with climate change, could it?

(CNN) -- Evacuations are under way in some Oklahoma City neighborhoods, Mayor Mick Cornett said, as people there are dealing with vicious flash-flooding and scattered power outages Monday.
CNN meteorologist Jacqui Jeras says the damage has been caused by "backbuilding thunderstorms," a series of heavy rain cores without intermittent periods of let-up.

The National Weather Service said that almost 10 inches of rain fell between 2 and 11 a.m. CT, and Tim Hartley of Oklahoma Gas & Electric says that about 4,000 customers are without power.

It's a "bad situation throughout the entire county," Oklahoma County Sheriff's Office spokesman Mark Myers said.

CNN affiliate KOCO reported that portions of Interstate 35, Interstate 40 and Interstate 44 in the Oklahoma City area had flooded.
"We always pride ourselves on being able to handle large amounts of rain. This is a rare case," Cornett said.

Oklahoma City Police spokeswoman Kristy Yager said officers are trying to manage stalled vehicles, barricade flooded streets and help people. "Areas that have never flooded before are flooding now," she said.
Glynda Chu, a police spokeswoman in nearby Edmond, said it was the worst flooding that city has seen in 25 years.

CNN iReporter Jennifer Oliver, who lives in Edmond, says there's normally a little creek with a 20-foot waterfall behind her house, but by late morning, she couldn't even make it out. "Never seen anything quite like that," Oliver said.

Can you help us out?

For nearly 20 years we have been exposing Washington lies and untangling media deceit, but now Facebook is drowning us in an ocean of right wing lies. Please give a one-time or recurring donation, or buy a year's subscription for an ad-free experience. Thank you.

Discussion

We welcome relevant, respectful comments. Any comments that are sexist or in any other way deemed hateful by our staff will be deleted and constitute grounds for a ban from posting on the site. Please refer to our Terms of Service for information on our posting policy.
Mastodon