Texas - Storm-weary residents who evacuated their homes along the rain-swollen Brazos River were allowed to return Saturday morning but were urged to remain cautious.


The river had fallen to just below flood stage and was continuing to recede. However, there was still floating debris being carried downstream, and some roads near the river remained barricaded, said Joel Kertok, a spokesman for Parker County in north Texas.

"It still could be a deadly situation and that is why we're strongly urging people to stay out of the water," he said.

Storms on the southern Plains have claimed 11 lives in Texas starting last week, and authorities were searching for two 20-year-old men whose sport utility vehicle was found submerged in a creek Thursday in Burnet County, in central Texas.

About 100 people near Marble Falls remained stranded for a fourth day. Flood and water damage made roads impassable, said Christa Bromley, a Burnet County Emergency Management spokeswoman. The residents had been notified of the evacuation but chose to stay in their homes near Hamilton Creek.

Authorities said all were safe, and they had power and drinkable water. Texas Department of Transportation and county crews were trying to get them out, Bromley said.

On Friday, President Bush declared Texas a major disaster area because of the flooding caused by the storms of June 16-18 and ordered federal aid for six counties. Gov. Rick Perry has declared 37 counties disaster areas, making them eligible for state assistance.

Also Friday, Perry joined local officials in an aerial survey of Marble Falls, which took the brunt of the deluge but where much of the water had receded.

"We're going to go through some days of frustration," Perry said. "I know we'll all pull together."

Showers fell across arts of Texas and Oklahoma on Saturday, and the National Weather Service said more thunderstorms were possible for the two states during the weekend, with a possibility of more heavy rain.

Heavy rain fell to the north and northeast on Saturday and the weather service issued flash flood warnings for parts of Kansas and Missouri.

In Oklahoma City, rainfall was recorded for the 18th straight day Saturday, four days longer than the previous record, set in 1937.

source : Yahoo news

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