SHADY POINT, Okla. — Flooding in LeFlore County has washed out three bridges in on city, stranding some people in their homes almost all day.
Around a dozen homeowners between the Rock Creek bridge and the Smith bridge were stranded Tuesday (Sept. 1) when water was rushing across the bridges.
“I’m kind of astounded because I’ve never seen that before,” said Debi Yakel.
Yakel and her neighbors were stranded at their houses because the only two ways out were locked.
One way out is a low-water bridge that is flooded, and the concrete bridge on the other side of the Shady Point neighborhood collapsed in the floodwaters.
“This one has been here for 20, 25 years, I’m not sure and it’s never come up this high, it’s never come up past the bottom of it, never flooded it at all,” Yakel said.
Yakel says no water got inside her home, but with even more rain expected Wednesday, she's worried it will wash out again.
“I’m fine because I have food and water and I’m okay. My husband is not home, he’s out of town right now and he can’t get back in unless they do something about the bridge," she said.
Branton Ramsey lives on the same street and says luckily the water stopped at their front porch and didn't get inside.
"As really close and loud and kind of shaking the house and I woke up and there was water in the garage," Ramsey said. "I just kind of quickly moved things out of the garage into the house to get them out of the water.”
There is no timeline for when the Rock Creek bridge will be back open, but now that the Smith bridge has been fixed, it's just a short detour for people living in this part of town.
Shady Point Police say there was one water rescue around 4 a.m. Tuesday morning. They say a family who lives next to the creek had to be rescued.