Torrents of rain leave residents stranded, Amtrak train stuck
Monday, July 23rd, 2007It just keeps getting worse!
Hundreds of people sought higher ground — or were pulled there by rescuers — Saturday morning after the torrents that had battered New Braunfels and Seguin moved west of San Antonio overnight, causing flooding and evacuations in Medina County.
Floodwaters shut down a 36-mile stretch of railway in Medina and Uvalde counties for hours, a railroad spokesman said, marooning a westbound Amtrak train carrying 176 people near the tiny town of Knippa until late in the afternoon, when buses offloaded perturbed passengers.
There were dozens of calls for rescue in Bexar County, where rain fueled by gulf moisture continued to fall at historic levels and again inundated roadways.
Four young adults returning to retrieve a stranded truck were overwhelmed by floodwaters near Leon Creek off Grissom Road, in Northwest San Antonio.
The two men and two women, ranging in age from 19 to 25, sought safety in a tree and were happened upon by a passing police helicopter. They were rescued by a Fire Department boat, officials said.
Medina County saw heavy flooding in D’Hanis — where a National Weather Service spokesman estimated 17 inches of rain fell in 12 hours, closing U.S. 90 — and near Tarpley and along Hondo Creek at Texas 173.
About 300 people were evacuated along Hondo, Seco and Verde creeks and emergency workers rescued people from low water crossings and roofs, a Hondo police dispatcher said.
The area along Seco Creek in D’Hanis was evacuated in the morning, and a voluntary evacuation was under way along Hondo Creek.
A shelter was set up in Hondo at Woolls Intermediate School.
“We have no choice. We have to stay here,” said Debbie Nolasco of D’Hanis, who was at the school with her husband, having left her dog Chiquita behind at home.
She seemed resigned to events. In flooding there in 1987, days before her wedding, she said, “I had to throw my wedding dress in the car and drive away.”
Hondo Mayor James Danner said the shelter could hold 200, adding, “Our problem is getting people to come over here.”
Road closures and rescues were reported in Kendall County and campgrounds along the Medina River were evacuated in Bandera County. Wilson County also reported many road closures.
Police in Uvalde reported street closures across the city, but no mandatory evacuations or rescues.
Overnight, high winds possibly spun from a twister damaged four businesses and at least one house in southern Guadalupe County, said Guadalupe County Sheriff’s Department Cpl. John Batey.
At one point Friday night, Guadalupe County reported close to 120 road closings. Batey said he believed the Guadalupe River flooded at least a couple of homes on the lower end of Lake Placid.
Pat McDonald, a forecaster at the National Weather Service office in New Braunfels said parts of northern Uvalde and Medina counties received up to 17 inches of rain between 10 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. Saturday.
Rainfall for the region already is the second greatest total on record from the start of the year to this date, he said. As of Saturday, 34 inches had fallen since January. The all-time mark to this point, some 36 inches, fell in 1993. The city averages 32.93 inches per year.
McDonald said the culprit — an upper-level low pressure system in New Mexico — was dissipating and high pressure from the Central Plains was coming in, which could allow for some drying out over the next few days. Sun baking the saturated ground could cause evaporated moisture to aggregate into yet more thunderstorms, he warned.
Though the rainfall amount was historic, McDonald said, it had the benefit of being steady and had not fallen in the concentrations of 1998 and 2002, which brought dozens of flood deaths and more than $2.5 billion in estimated property damage.
About 300 children and staff at the Bandina Christian Youth Camp in Bandera were stranded by the rising Medina River and were forced to leave through the back of the camp property, said camp nurse Cindy Donahoe.
In Bexar County, the Medina River was forecast to hit minor flood stage and the San Antonio River near Elmendorf was expected to reach moderate flood stage, with pastures, cropland and livestock affected. In Frio County, the Frio River, Hondo Creek, Nueces River, Sabinal River and Seco Creek all were in flood stage.
The San Marcos River below Luling in Gonzales County was forecast to reach 10 feet above flood stage, which would inundate most of Palmetto State Park and could extensively damage park facilities. The Guadalupe River in Gonzales was forecast to inundate most of City Park.
Rivers also were at flood stage or forecast to reach flood stage in Guadalupe, Hays, Karnes, Kerr, Uvalde and Wilson counties, among others. Most of the rivers were not threatening homes.
The floodwaters gave passengers on Amtrak’s westbound Sunset Limited an unscheduled stop in Uvalde County. Carmen Harris, a clerk at the SWT Supermart in Knippa, said she watched the stranded train all day until late in the afternoon, when a conductor came into the store to buy some snacks, including ice cream.
“He said, ‘Everybody’s mad at me, but it’s not my fault,’” she said. “They were uneasy and restless because they’d been there for hours and hours.”
An Amtrak spokeswoman said a “bus bridge” was taking the passengers to El Paso and on to their destinations.
It was just as well, said Harris, since Knippa, without any motels, could not accommodate any refugees. And Harris had no room on her couch, she said: “That’s for my husband.”
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A 30% chance of rain is being forecast through Friday, then a 60% chance through next weekend. When will we have a break??
If you have been in San Antonio or at least South Texas for a few years, you likely know the name Cisneros. Of course, you probably know of Henry Cisneros, former Mayor who became the first Hispanic man to lead a major city when he was elected in 1981. 
There are several things to consider on the ballot for May 12th. We already discussed the huge bond issue that will take us all the way to 2012 in terms of money and well beyond that in terms of impact on the city, you and your families. 
