OKLAHOMA CITY – Evacuations were ordered Saturday in Elk City after torrential rain forced the closure of part of an interstate highway and threatened to flood homes.
The National Weather Service issued a flash flood emergency for parts of Beckham County and other westernOklahoma counties until 5:15 p.m. Forecasters said 3 to 6 inches of rain has fallen on the area, causing extensiveflooding. Additional rainfall amounts of up to 3 inches are possible Saturday afternoon, forecasters said.
Elk City firefighter L.J. Geist said 4.5 inches of rain had fallen on the area that was already saturated by rainfall earlier in the week.
“We’ve had to evacuate whole neighborhoods and RV parks,” Geist said. “It’s raining again. It’s just wave after wave coming in. It’s getting pretty bad around here.”
The Oklahoma Highway Patrol said heavy rainfall had flooded a portion of Interstate 40 around Foss near the border between Custer and Washita counties, forcing authorities to reroute both eastbound and westbound traffic until the highway was reopened about 5:40 p.m. The Oklahoma Department of Transportation said flooding had also closed other roads in the region.