Oklahomans flee floods

MIAMI, Okla. – Hundreds of residents fled their northeastern Oklahoma homes Tuesday with all they could carry as floodwaters pushed destruction downstream, and one river carried an oil slick toward a large reservoir that supplies water to several cities.

An estimated 42,000 gallons of thick crude oil that spilled from a Kansas refinery on Sunday floated with mud and debris down the Verdigris River, coating everything it touched with a slimy, smelly layer of goo.

The slick wasn’t expected to have an effect on water supply intakes located well below the surface of Oklahoma’s Oologah Lake, about 30 miles northeast of Tulsa.

The oil joins other causes of misery for thousands affected by flooding in Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas.

Torrential downpours led to fast-rising water Tuesday in East Texas, forcing the rescue of a couple of people from water-logged vehicles.

In northeast Oklahoma, the rain-swollen Neosho River spilled over its banks, forcing at least 300 Miami residents to evacuate and flooding buildings and apartments at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College, where classes were canceled for the rest of the week.