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GAINESVILLE, Texas - At least four people were killed by flash floods in north Texas today and several were reported to be missing as the waters began to recede and weather forecasters saw a drying spell ahead.
Texas Governor Rick Perry's office said he had deployed three helicopters and 38 national guardsmen to help with recovery efforts in stricken areas after dozens of people were plucked from the rooftops of their homes and even trees.
Authorities could not immediately be reached to confirm the death tolls, reported by several local TV outlets including Fox 4 News and TXA 21.
Dramatic television footage earlier in the day showed residents of Gainesville, a town about 100km north of Dallas, trapped on rooftops as murky water roared past. But by evening authorities said the focus had shifted to recovery instead of rescue.
Among the dead was a 4-year-old girl whom local media said was killed after she was pulled by raging waters from her mother's arms in a mobile home park in a Fort Worth suburb.
A five-year-old girl died in Gainesville along with her grandmother after their mobile home was swept away by the torrent.
Local TV news outlets said authorities were still looking for that girl's sister, aged two. Elsewhere, a woman died after her car stalled on a north Texas road and was swept away.
A Reuters photographer on the scene in Gainesville said several houses she had looked into appeared to have been trashed by the flood with furniture and appliances strewn about. Damage to cars and buildings was extensive.
"Water came into the house and almost broke everything and now everything is laying around," said Christian Gomez, a resident of Gainesville, as he trudged down the street in calf deep water.
The National Weather Service said close to 23cm of rain had poured over the Gainesville area since early Monday morning. Forecasts called for scattered thundershowers over the area on Tuesday followed by at least two partly sunny days without rain.
Even as the rains tapered off, concerns remained that excess run-off could still gush forth from rising creeks and rivers. Drenching rains in recent weeks have snapped a prolonged drought in north Texas.
To the east of Gainesville in the town of Sherman, local media reported that 120 elderly residents of a nursing home had been safely evacuated and taken away by bus.
Evidence of flooding could be seen in many places. In the town of Grapevine near the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, a soccer field was submerged under water.
- REUTERS
