Texas Continues To Battle Heat

They continue to break records in Texas, where Thursday was the 18th day in a row over 100 degrees, reports CBS News Correspondent Jim Axelrod.

The situation is so bad that President Clinton Thursday made Texas and 10 other states eligible for $100 million in emergency relief funds—money for fans, air conditioners, and assistance in paying swelling electricity bills.

The president has also declared all 254 counties in Texas disaster areas, a move designed to get some help to farmers whose land grows more parched each day. Corn, cotton, and sugar farmers in Texas are in the most trouble.

"A crop like this is just a total loss," one farmer says. "There will be a lot of farmers this year who will go out of business."

"We'll make it one more year," another farmer says. "Next year's the big question."

To make matters worse, crews are working to repair a 36-inch water main that ruptured late Thursday in Ft. Worth, Tex., putting a nearby pumping station out of action for the weekend.

And the trouble has started to move north. In Granite, Okla., they haven't had any rain to speak of since the end of March. On one field, the land is so dry, farmers can't even get a plow into the ground. And there is no rain in the forecast.