Jim Lennon walks through
the garage of a townhouse that was broken down when flood waters from
the San Jacinto river rushed through the first flood Thursday, June 2,
2016 near Kingwood, Texas. (Michael Ciaglo/Houston Chronicle via AP)
MANDATORY CREDIT
HOUSTON—Three soldiers were killed and six were missing
after an Army truck was washed from a low-water crossing and overturned
Thursday in a rain-swollen creek at Fort Hood, a spokesman for the Texas
Army post said.
Aerial and ground crews searched the 20-mile Owl Creek that winds
through heavily wooded terrain on the northern fringe of the
340-square-mile Army base after the truck flipped in swift floodwaters
during a late morning during a training exercise. Three soldiers were
rescued and were hospitalized in stable condition.
It was not clear whether the search would continue overnight, ahead
of more thunderstorms expected to move through the area Friday that
could complicate the effort. Parts of Texas have been inundated with
rain in the last week, and more than half of the state is under flood
watches or warnings, including the counties near Fort Hood. At least six
people died in floods last week in Central and Southeast Texas.
Army aircraft, canine search teams, swift-water rescue watercraft and
heavy trucks were being used in the search near Cold Springs and Owl
Creek. The Army did not release the names of the dead because it was
still notifying relatives.
Fort Hood spokesman John Miller said the low-water crossing of the
creek was flooded by two days of intermittent heavy rains when the swift
water swept the truck, called a Light Medium Tactical Vehicle, from the
road. The 2½-ton vehicle resembles a flatbed truck with a walled bed
and is used to carry troops.
Fort Hood has seen 2½ to 3 inches of rain from Wednesday afternoon
through Thursday afternoon according to radar estimates, said National
Weather Service meteorologist Matt Talley in Fort Worth.
Parts of Texas still recovering from heavy rainfall were watching a
new batch of storms that could dump up to 10 inches of rain from
Thursday through Saturday and worsen flooding caused by rivers and other
waterways that already have risen to record levels.
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