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Oklahoma storms: First Oklahoma tornadoes, now floodwater

Residents in Craig, Delaware and Ottawa counties dealing with disaster

BY RHETT MORGAN AND SHEILA STOGSDILL State Correspondent | Published: May 25, 2011 Comment on this article

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Body of Ryan Hamil found in lake

May 26The body 3-year-old Ryan Hamil missing since a tornado...

Tornado disaster relief efforts

May 25The Farmer's Insurance mobile command center arrived in...

Chickasha tornado damage

May 25Residents of Chickasha start cleaning up the damage from...

Oklahoma tornadoes: Victim finds husband's wedding ring

May 25Miranda Lewis, who lives west of El Reno, survived the...

Oklahoma tornadoes: Logan County official addresses search for missing boy

May 25An official talks to the media about the search.

Piedmont homeowners address May 24 storm

May 25Kenneth and Margie Hanebaum sought shelter in their...

Oklahoma Storms: Radar loop of May 24 storms

May 25Radar loop showing storms from 3 pm to 10 pm, May 24, in...

Oklahoma Storms: Cleanup after tornadoes hit state

May 25Severe thunderstorms have moved east out of Oklahoma and...

Oklahoma tornadoes: Tornado rotation

May 24View a time-lapse rotation of a tornado that touched down...

Oklahoma Storms: Deaths confirmed as tornadoes hit state

May 24Tuesday, May 24, 2011 will go down as another deadly day...

Oklahoma Storms: Tuesday, May 24, 2011

May 24High risk of strong tornadoes, large hail in Oklahoma today.

Oklahoma Weather Forecast: Tuesday, May 24, 2011

May 24The forecast for later today calls for a potentially...

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Article Gallery: Oklahoma storms: First Oklahoma tornadoes, now floodwater

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2011 Tornadoes

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May 24 Tornadoes

May 24 storm routes and the times they occurred

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Early Tuesday, a couple of residences in a Miami housing addition were damaged by water from Tar Creek, Geasland said.

Two families were evacuated from a tornado-hit area of southern Delaware County after the Illinois River crested Tuesday morning, said Robert Reel, Delaware County Emergency Management Director.

The families were evacuated by boat at the Fiddler's Bend area and sent to a shelter opened by the American Red Cross shelter at the Kansas High School gymnasium, he said.

“At first they were hit by a tornado (on Sunday) and now floodwaters,” Reel said.

The Illinois River crested at Watts on Tuesday morning at 25 feet, said Ed Fite, Oklahoma Scenic Rivers Commission administrator.

Watts is about 15 miles from Fiddler's Bend, a campground area with cabins and weekend homes. The campground area is located two miles east of Kansas, Okla., where hundreds of trees, most measuring more than 150 feet tall and 3 feet in diameter, were uprooted.

Fite said 40 families were affected by the storms.

“Some of the houses that were on the hillside — the tornado got them,” Fite said. “The other houses that are in the holler are sitting in 15 feet of flood water.”

In nearby West Siloam Springs, 17 homes were destroyed and 12 people injured when an EF2 tornado struck the area Sunday evening.

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