ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) - The remnants of Tropical Storm Hermine caused widespread flooding in northern Texas and began buffeting southern Oklahoma on Wednesday, killing at least two people and submerging low-lying pockets of Arlington under several feet of water.
Firefighters used trucks and ladders to reach residents of one Arlington apartment complex who were stranded on the upper floors of their homes by murky water that suddenly surrounded them. The sudden deluge, which surprised many residents because of the relatively weak punch the storm packed when it made landfall Monday night, sent at least one vehicle floating across the complex's parking lot.
In a neighborhood nearby, firefighters were asking homeowners if anyone had been swept away by the creek's fast-moving waters, which turned an open field of wild grass and flower into a temporary lake. The waters carried away trampolines and storage sheds, knocked down fences and retaining walls and uprooted trees, which could be heard cracking in the nearby woods.
The creek appeared to be about 15 feet above its normal levels, nearly overtaking a four-lane bridge and flooding a park. A paved walking path through the park ended abruptly in the water.
Coffee-colored floodwaters rushed past roller coaster tracks at a Six Flags amusement park. Bewildered residents surprised by the extent of the flooding waded through waist-deep water in the streets.
By mid-afternoon in Arlington, the rain had ceased, the waters had receded and the sun was shining. But the storm was just reaching southern Oklahoma, where strong winds toppled several outbuildings and forced the closure of a highway.
Authorities said the flooding killed at least two people, and they were searching for a woman in Austin whose vehicle was swept away by a raging creek.
A 49-year-old man drowned after being swept away from his pickup truck by a flooded creek between the cities of Alvarado and Lillian, about 20 miles south of Arlington, Johnson County Sheriff's Department Capt. Mike Gilbert said. The man's body was found about 200 yards from his truck.
The National Weather Service said at least one person died in a vehicle submerged by water from a swollen creek in Killeen, north of Austin.
Authorities in Texas were searching for an unknown number of possible victims, said Williamson County sheriff's Sgt. John Foster.
Foster had no reports of deaths or injuries in his county but he said authorities "were kind of preparing for the worst." Texas Parks and Wildlife Department game wardens were assisting in the search. The wardens reported rescues of nine people in Belton and four in Williamson County. Officials also said a state helicopter had been deployed to search for missing people near Lake Granger, north of Austin.
Authorities in Austin were searching for a woman whose black Lexus SUV was swept off the road by swollen Bull Creek. Fire Department Battalion Chief Thayer Smith said emergency responders there had performed at least 11 swift water rescues since late Tuesday afternoon.
Two mobile homes and a house were swept away north of Austin, and dozens of people sought emergency shelter after state and local authorities performed numerous high-water rescues from Austin to Dallas.
Remnants of the storm, which was downgraded to a tropical depression Tuesday night, made their way into southern Oklahoma Wednesday afternoon, downing electrical power lines and overturning several outbuildings, authorities there said.
The National Weather Service issued flash flood warnings for many parts of Oklahoma, and the entire state was under a flash flood watch.
Police in Durant, 120 miles south of Oklahoma City, said strong winds helped topple a tractor-trailer along a highway near Colbert. The driver was transported to a hospital with injuries, and the highway was closed Wednesday afternoon after the winds, which may have been a tornado, moved through.
A Durant dispatcher said two homes were damaged, and the Bryan County Emergency Management Department said some outbuildings had been blown over.
Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management spokeswoman Michelann Ooten said power lines were knocked down near Colbert. Oklahoma Gas and Electric reported about 1,043 outages in Colbert.
The weather service said the leading edge of Hermine's remnants had moved into Love, Carter and Marshall counties.
Remnants of Hermine dumped several inches of rain across central and north Texas overnight, snarling the morning commute in the Dallas area. Flood warnings were posted throughout both regions.
By Wednesday afternoon, city officials in Dallas said they were exhaling in relief because the city escaped the storm without having to conduct major rescues. The city did shut down one major thoroughfare due to flooding.
Kenny Shaw, the emergency management coordinator in Dallas, said overnight flooding was possible from the Trinity River, which runs west of downtown and could become swollen with rain from upstream storms as Hermine moved
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