More Crippling Rain For Texas

Floodwater is receding in some parts of Texas Tuesday, but it is hard to talk about improvement when the water in some areas still is up to the rooftops.

Texas State Guard Angie Navarro was helping control crowds at the edge of the rising Guadalupe River when she gasped.

"That's my house!" she cried, staring into the swift-flowing current. The blue-and-white wooden structure was floating down what used to be West Hamilton Street, a full two blocks from where she stood.

In one hand she clutched yellow plastic tape imprinted with "Caution." Her other hand went to her mouth to stifle a sob.

"I can tell by the roof," she said quietly as her husband, Richard, also a guardsman, tried to comfort her Monday. A few minutes later, another house torn from its foundation sped past amazed spectators.

Crews are working overtime, using trucks, boats and whatever else is available to get to people stranded by floodwater that took so many residents by surprise.

"I've never seen it this bad ever out in this county in the last 12 years," said one East Bernard resident. Melvin Reimer, who lives five miles outside East Bernard said it has been "50 years since I couldn't get into town."

Old timers claim that the last time water came over the bridge in East Bernard was 1941. They also say water hasn't washed out the bridge since 1929.

Oddest of all, Axelrod reports, is that East Bernard has gotten only a few inches of rain in the last few days. Most of the water is coming from the north on its way to the Gulf of Mexico.

CBS This Morning Meteorologist Craig Allen reports that the Houston area can expect more showers and thunderstorms Wednesday. The western part of the state could get even more rainfall from an old hurricane, Madeline, moving off the Mexico coast.

At least 15 people have died and three children are missing in the torrential downpours that began Saturday, flooding 60 counties, nearly a quarter of the state. Twenty inches of rain were recorded over the weekend in San Antonio.

"Nature is devastating," Gov. George W. Bush said. "It was only three months ago that we were praying for rain, and now...we've got too much rain."

The Guadalupe River, just east of San Antonio and New Braunfels, is usually about 150 feet across. It was three miles wide in some areas and rising Monday, forcing 1,400 people to shelters.

In Cuero, frightened residents told of the rier climbing 10 feet in just four hours, swamping neighborhoods and forcing hundreds of people from their homes without a chance to salvage many belongings.

"It just came up really fast," said Corey Tolbert, a firefighter who spent much of the day rescuing people in a two-ton Army truck. When the water reached the top of the truck hood, he turned over his duties to men in boats.

Ronnie White, 40, was at work when the river took over his neighborhood on Beacon Street.

"I don't know what it looks like," he said, standing at the edge of the rising water and nodding toward his house. "All I know is it's under water. It's been knee-high and up to the front steps before, but nothing like this. This is something bad."

Crews stationed at the water's edge had to wrestle with the boats to drag them to dry ground because the current was so strong.

"There are cows floating around, dogs standing on the tops of houses," said Marcus Perez, 24, who was taken out by boat. "You can barely see some of the roofs."