By KERA News & Wire Services
Dallas, TX – The death toll from flooding caused by the remnants of Tropical Storm Her-mean could increase after authorities near San Antonio acknowledged today that hopes were dim of finding two missing swimmers swept away by floodwaters.
The flooding caught much of Texas by surprise and forced more than 100 high-water rescues. Flash flooding has killed at least two motorists and others are still missing.
The storm spawned several tornadoes near Dallas, damaging warehouses in an area near Love Field. One twister slammed a tractor-trailer rig into a warehouse, causing the building to topple onto a taxi cab, leaving the driver with minor injuries.
Red Cross teams in North Texas are assessing the damage and helping families after the storms.
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Foster: We've got an apartment building out in Seagoville that took a pretty hard blow. Looks like there were about eight units and upwards of 30 people who were displaced from this apartment building.
Anita Foster, with the Red Cross says that was tornado damage.
Some of the state's most intense flooding occurred in Arlington. Debris - including smashed pool tables, pianos and kitchen appliances - were piled up in yards and against smashed fences. Some residents piled all of their possessions in the front yard, saying their water-logged homes would have to be gutted.
Near Alvarado, 20 miles south of Arlington, firefighters tried to save a 49-year-old man who apparently drove his pickup truck into a flooded crossing. One rescuer got to within 50 feet of the man but couldn't continue because it was too dangerous. The man's body was found hours later after the waters receded.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry toured central parts of the state today and issued a disaster declaration for 40 counties. Perry, pointing out that many of the dead and missing were swept away in their vehicles, urged people not to try to ford swollen creeks or flooded roadways.
Hermine packed a relatively light punch when it made landfall Monday night, and many Texas residents said they felt unprepared for yesterday's sudden flooding.
Texas sales tax collections down 6.6 percent
Sales tax collections in Texas declined 6.6 percent over the last fiscal year, despite five months of modest increases. State comptroller Susan Combs says August collections of $1.77 billion were a slight jump of 0.8 percent over August 2009.
The state fiscal years run from September thru August. Combs said Thursday that declines over the first seven months gradually gave way to modest gains over the last five months.
Combs says August showed gains in oil, gas and manufacturing but construction and retail collections were down.
Feds reject Texas application for school funding
The U.S. Department of Education has rejected Texas' application for $830 million in federal money for schools.
Federal officials say in a letter to Texas Education Commissioner Robert Scott that they could not award the money to Texas because of "conditional assurances" included in the state's application.
Texas Republicans have balked at a provision in the federal law that requires Texas to make additional assurances to the feds about how Texas schools will be funded for the next three years.
Gov. Rick Perry says complying with the provision he would violate the state constitution.
The letter from the Department of Education asked Scott to resubmit the application without the conditional language.