Flooding Continues To Pose Problems

9:10 a.m. (CDT)

Arkansas transportation officials have closed a section of southbound U.S. Highway 71 north of the Texas border due to flooding along the Red River.

The state Highway and Transportation Department says it closed a 2.47 miles of the southbound lanes Friday morning and that it may soon also have to close the northbound lanes as well. The road would remain closed until the water recedes and engineers can assess any damage.

A flooded 5-mile section of State Highway 41 near the Texas border also remains closed.

Recent storms have caused widespread flooding in the southern Plains and have been blamed for the deaths of 20 people in Texas and four in Oklahoma. Fourteen people in Texas also remain missing.

8:55 a.m. (CDT)

Authorities say the Brazos River in North Texas' Parker County is rising again due to new rain and the opening of two flood gates upstream at Possum Kingdom Lake.

Joel Kertok, the emergency management spokesman for the county west of Fort Worth, said Friday that the river there has risen above flood stage again after dropping below it Thursday night.

On Thursday, water was lapping at the foundations of 11 homes as the river crested at 23.58 feet before dropping to about 20 feet. The flood stage is at 21 feet. The level rose Friday to 21.4 feet and was expected to rise more with the opening of the flood gates.

Residents of about 250 homes near the river, most in the Horseshoe Bend community, were asked to voluntarily evacuate.

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7:20 a.m. (CDT)A line of thunderstorms stalled while passing over the Dallas area overnight, dropping as much as 7 inches of rain in some areas as vehicles became trapped on flooded streets and water seeped into homes.

Dallas Fire Rescue said early Friday that crews have responded to about 260 calls that include vehicles trapped in high water and accidents related to the weather since midnight Thursday.

National Weather Service meteorologist Ted Ryan says an average of 3 to 5 inches of rain fell across the area after the thunderstorms stalled over the city.

He says the Dallas suburb of Garland got from 6 to 7 inches of rain. He says flooding along a creek there washed some cars down the street.

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6:45 a.m. (CDT)

Johnson County officials say they have evacuated 12 people who were caught in floodwaters.

Officials said some homes in the county some 50 miles south of Dallas were inundated with water late Thursday. Some people were rescued from stranded vehicles.

Texas has been dealing with flooding since heavy rains began at the weekend, worsened by thunderstorms that passed through the state overnight.

The National Weather Service has issued flood warnings for 21 Texas communities including Johnson, Travis and Bastrop counties.

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3:30 a.m. (CDT)

Emergency personnel have rescued the occupants of a houseboat that was adrift in Lake Travis in Austin.

Austin-Travis County EMS says the 21 occupants of the boat rescued Friday were not injured.

Responders say the houseboat broke free from Sandy Creek Marina earlier in the day. The area has been blighted by days of relentless rains. Emergency personnel used three boats to attach the houseboat to the dock at the marina.