![]() Janette Barlow of Wimberley, Texas traveled to Webbers Falls Sunday to remember victim Gail Shanahan. Because the federal government and the State of Oklahoma are constantly revising, eliminating. Watching my kids grow up and knowing that Shae was just a year and a half difference from my youngest daughter," Billie Eppler said. children and patrons of Webbers Falls School District I-006. It's holidays with my children, things like that. She said holidays are difficult, even two decades later. The flooding in Webbers Falls is extensive enough to move even the local post office to a location in Gore, according to a release from the U.S. We didn't find out for sure until Tuesday evening," Eppler recalls. 66 at Oklahoma City, remaining generally eastward while U.S. R ead about the different flood zones and their risks. Use our searchable map to find your Flood Zone. We were trying to catch them on their cellphones, (James and Misty Johnson) and just the unknown. and you should be familiar with at least the zone you are in. ![]() Devastating flooding swept away homes in parts of. Mireya Villarreal reports from Webbers Falls, Oklahoma, where the whole town was forced to evacuate. "It was a phone call from my mom asking me if I was okay. Flood alerts are up across half the state. 'I was shocked': First trooper to arrive at Webbers Falls bridge disaster recalls scene Gone but not forgotten: Former mayor to host memorial in honor of Webbers Falls bridge tragedy Everybody loved Jim," Eppler said.īillie Eppler said she remembers, "disbelief," when she answered a telephone call from her mother 20 years ago about the tragedy at Webbers Falls. He was just a great person in our area in our community. She talked about her late brother at Webbers Falls Monday. She said she lives with the memories of losing three family members among the 14 people who died. Surviving family members of the 14 victims made the trek to the Webbers Falls for a Memorial Day ceremony on Monday two decades after the tragedy.īillie Eppler of Alma is the sister of James Johnson who was at Webbers Falls Monday. The Johnsons vehicle and others went off the bridge into the water below. If the warning about the runaway barges seems alarmist, it shouldn’t: During Memorial Day weekend in 2002, a manned barge struck one of the I-40 bridge’s supports, causing part of the bridge to collapse and killing 14 people whose vehicles plunged into the river.Īs for the fertilizer that was on the runaway barges, the amount that got into the river is significant but should dilute quickly because of the waterway’s heavy flow, said Jay Wright, environmental programs manager for the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Management.A barge had struck an I-40 bridge column, and a section of the bridge collapsed into the river. been subjected to a minor boat impact or floating flood debris impact. Safety is the priority for this,” Mitchell said. An example of this occurred on May 26, 2002, in Webber Falls, Oklahoma at the. and a truck driver were pulled from flood waters near Webber Falls. “We don’t know how long that’s going to be. Crops December 1992 Character of Storm OKLAHOMA Cont'd Kingfisher County son. Two downstream bridges, including an Interstate 40 bridge, remained closed after the crash until further notice. The lock and dam didn’t break, though the Army Corps of Engineers was going to closely inspect them for damage, said Kenna Mitchell, a spokeswoman for the Oklahoma Department of Transportation. Later Wednesday, they sounded the alarm about the runaway barges on the town’s Facebook page, warning they could hit the lock and dam: “If the dam breaks, it will be catastrophic!! Leave now!!” That is 14 feet (4.27 meters) above flood stage. ![]() Thursday, according to the National Weather Service. Webbers Falls officials on Wednesday ordered the town’s roughly 600 residents to evacuate due to the threat of flooding from the swollen river, which was at 42 feet (12.8 meters) as of 11:45 a.m. “They did a direct hit, they kind of turned a little bit,” Germany said of the crash. MIKE SIMONS/Tulsa World MIKE SIMONS BARGES Workers attach cables and chains to one of two sunken barges at Webbers. 'If it had to happen, its a thing that God had some piece of that it happened here, said. The barges broke loose up river and sunk during Mays historic flooding. The barges eventually crashed into the dam near the town of Webbers Falls shortly before noon and quickly sank. People in Webbers Falls are remembering the lives lost when the I-40 bridge collapsed 20 years ago.
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