Rain creates emergency status in city (not Houston...Lubbock)

Lubbock Avalanche-Journal ^ | Friday, September 12, 2008 | Josh Hull

[WestTexasWend]

Texas Tech, local schools cancel Friday classes

While Lubbock looked east the past few weeks to see if hurricanes would bring evacuees here, the city was drenched by storms coming from the west as six inches of rain caused numerous problems Thursday.

More rain is possible through this weekend, which could cause cancellations or rescheduling for community and sporting events.

No high school football games have been canceled yet, but athletic directors across the area said they will monitor the situation to make sure no one will be in danger.

Thursday's impact was widespread:

• Lubbock, Cooper and Frenship schools are closed today in anticipation of flooded streets.

• Reports of cars trapped by floodwaters across the city poured into Lubbock emergency offices across the area, including some confirmed reports of flooded homes, said Lubbock Mayor Tom Martin. For thousands of other drivers, the heavy all-day rains made driving a chore and some roads were also closed.

• Martin said he planned on declaring a state of emergency for the city to respond to flooding he believes will reach the status of a hundred-year flood.

• City officials said they were using Lubbock County inmates to fill 5,000 sandbags to place in the heavily flooded areas, particularly the area around 66th Street and Avenue W.

• Martin said normal city services, including trash pick-up, may be canceled during the next few days until water levels start to recede. Also as a result of the flooding, wastewater from the water treatment plant was released into the Yellowhouse Canyon to accommodate excess water which is overloading the system.

• Lubbock County Judge Tom Head said he planned on declaring a state of emergency for the county also as rain water continued to flood roads across the area. "Please try to stay in your homes unless it's an emergency," Head said. "If you are in a car, do not drive through water as it only takes a little to lift a car."

Because the city has been on standby to receive evacuees from Hurricane Ike, Martin said the shelter facilities could be used to house Lubbock residents displaced by flooding.

"A lot of people are concerned about the hurricane, but at the same time we have a disaster of our own in Lubbock," he said.

Martin said the flood would not affect Lubbock's status as a possible placement site for refugees from the Gulf Coast, though an emergency city council meeting was scheduled for 1 p.m. today to discuss appropriate responses to damage caused by the rain.

An emergency callback system was activated by the city to notify people in areas heavily affected by flooding about the possibility of water reaching homes.

Officials warned people to stay out of floodwaters and out of the playa lakes as they pose a significant danger for drowning.

The rain is expected to continue through Sunday as a major storm system from the Pacific Ocean continues to make its way through Texas.

[WestTexasWend]

Yesterdays precip (including 3.6" that fell in one hour) follows a week of rain and capped what was already a record-breaking wet summer. When you're praying for Ike's potential victims, throw in a line for the South Plains, where there are no rivers/streams to carry away the excess.

[kittymyrib]

Thanks for this report, WTW. While the TV weathermen are hyping Ike, there is terrible flooding on the Plains from TX to KS to OK from a Pacific storm that no one was watching. I guess there’s just not enough drama out there in flat country.

[crusty old prospector]

CLIMATE... LUBBOCK AIRPORT AT 7.46 INCHES OF RAINFALL ON THURSDAY BREAKS THE OLD RECORD OF 2.64 INCHES SET IN 1917. IT ALSO BREAKS BOTH THE ALL-TIME CALENDAR DAY TOTAL AND THE ALL-TIME 24-HOUR RAINFALL TOTAL. PREVIOUS RECORDS WERE 5.70 INCHES ON JUNE 1 1967 AND 5.82 INCHES ON OCTOBER 18-19 1983.

I was there for the big snow of 1983 and my daughter is there for the big rain of 2008. We got a call at midnight last night from some automated computer system telling us that classes were cancelled. I guess because my daughter put our home phone number as the emergency contact.

[Ron H.]

Thanks for this report, WTW. While the TV weathermen are hyping Ike, there is terrible flooding on the Plains from TX to KS to OK from a Pacific storm that no one was watching. I guess there’s just not enough drama out there in flat country.

Forgive those of us who are a bit more occupied with a massive storm that is and will devastate so much of a region as to boggle the mind. I trust you folks will do what you all have to do to cope as we here on the Gulf Coast region have to do every few years. It's just that we are worried about massive flooding and powerful wind damage on top of all that to even notice what is going on elsewhere. You all will be remembered in our prayers as our own loved ones are around here.

[secret garden]

Any word from Whyisagirl?

[vetvetdoug]

The Wichita River has overflowed twice in the last two years...unheard of for Wichita County. The Red River at the stateline at Burkburnett is usually a trickle but the river has gone from bank to bank several times. The foliage being green there is quite unique, usually this time of year the area is brown and the stock tanks are mudholes.

[WhyisaTexasgirlinPA]

I spoke to her last night when they had hit just a little over 5 inches of rain - She lives near a Walmart with a large pond in front and when we were there this summer that pond had flooded the entire road.... that was with a couple of inches of water. She uses that road to get to campus - but I just called and she said they cancelled classes.

[secret garden]

Good idea. How are y’all doing with the storm on its way? It looks pretty bad.

[WhyisaTexasgirlinPA]

I’m scared. All the houses near me are fairly new construction - so there are lots of transome windows and skylights - very pretty but not practical for hurricane winds........ nothing we can do now.