Hermine hits hard
Posted On: Thursday, Sep. 9 2010 12:18 AM
By Andy Ross
Killeen Daily HeraldA fatality, road closures, evacuations and millions of dollars in property damage were among the havoc reported in the wake of the tropical storm system that rolled through Bell County Tuesday evening and early Wednesday morning.
As a result of the storms that were spawned by Tropical Storm Hermine, Bell County as well as the cities of Harker Heights, Belton and Killeen have submitted disaster declarations to the governor, according to Bell County Emergency Management Director Dennis Baker.
"Tomorrow we will take the next step to construct a disaster summary outline that gives a quick overview of how many houses, businesses and infrastructure damage we have and then submit that to the state," Baker said. "This has been a major event for the county as a whole.
"In past flood events, we have seen flooding around the Killeen and Salado areas, but this is the first one I can think of that's been widespread enough we can see it on both sides of the county," he said.
Floodwaters in Killeen were the cause of death for a 19-year-old woman. The Killeen Police Department confirmed Rashima Shaquel Copeland of Killeen was killed after floodwaters swept her vehicle into a creek off Reeses Creek Road shortly before 11 p.m. Tuesday night.
The body was recovered Wednesday morning and Justice of the Peace Garland Potvin pronounced Copeland dead at 8:03 a.m.
A report from KPD said a witness called 911 Tuesday night stating that they had seen the vehicle swept away as it was traveling east in the 2300 block of Reeses Creek Road. The witness reportedly observed the headlights move across the roadway and into the creek, where the swiftly moving waters quickly submerged the vehicle.
Members of the Killeen Fire Department Swift Water Rescue Team responded to the scene but could not reach the vehicle until the swollen waters receded, at which time a partially submerged silver Mitsubishi Eclipse was discovered with Copeland inside.
Jesse Moore, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said between six inches and a foot of rain fell between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning as the storm system moved north through Bell County along the Interstate 35 corridor.
In addition to the drowning, road closures, home flooding and evacuations were reported in locations throughout the county.
In Harker Heights, more than 30 houses and trailer homes experienced flooding along sections of the overflowing Nolan Creek, according to Harker Heights Fire Department Chief Jack Collier.
"The flooding along Nolan Creek was significant," Collier said. "When it gets going, it really gets going from Killeen down to Belton."
Additionally, Collier said sections of Farm-to-Market 3219 washed out and an electrical substation on Roy Reynolds Drive partially flooded, causing widespread power outages in the city.
Harker Heights' sewage plant also was reportedly impacted by high waters, leaving the facility operating at 50 percent capacity Wednesday. Collier, who noted the flooding is the worst he has seen in recent times, said preliminary estimates list the total damage as exceeding $1.4 million.
Although 25 people in Harker Heights were evacuated from their homes and a number of others rescued, no injuries were reported, the chief said.
In Killeen, the evacuation number climbed to 110 people, Baker said.
Reports from the city of Killeen said a large portion of the evacuations took place on or around Dimple Street, Watercrest and Robinette roads. Ten high-water rescue operations were also reportedly performed in Killeen by crews with the Moffat Volunteer Fire Department.
Beyond the one fatality, no other injuries or deaths had been reported in Bell County as of Wednesday afternoon.
With more rain possible for Wednesday evening, an emergency shelter at the Killeen Community Center was on standby if needed, Baker said.
Contact Andy Ross at
aross@kdhnews.com or (254) 501-7468. Follow him on Twitter at KDHeducation.