(5 Jul 2007) SHOTLIST
1. Flooded shop
2. Oil drum in flooded field
3. 'Tide marks' on side of a building
4. Pan of oil slick in a parking lot
5. Various of flooded houses and businesses
6. SOUNDBITE: (English) Susan Tracy, resident:
"We had to leave, and now we can't get back in, and not certain when we are going to get back in, or if we are going to get back in. You know, we have heard different stories."
7. Truck in flood water
8. Flood water in front of business
9. Pan of flooded business
STORYLINE:
As some of the luckier residents of the southeast Kansas town of Coffeyville enjoyed the Fourth of July commemorations, others had less to celebrate as they returned to homes damaged by floodwater.
Water continued to recede on Wednesday, as drainage channels were opened on the Pottawatomie River.
Power was restored to about 60 homes on Tuesday night, allowing those residents to return, Miami County officials said in a news release on Wednesday.
The number of people using a town shelter dropped from around 200 to 86.
One resident Susan Tracy, was unsure when she would be able to return to her home.
"We had to leave, and now we can't get back in, and not certain when we are going to get back in, or if we are going to get back in. You know, we have heard different stories," she said.
Also on Wednesday, officials said the 42-thousand (158,982 litres) gallons of crude oil spilled into the Verdigris River when flooding hit a refinery had mostly dissipated.
There was no indication that any oil would reach Oklahoma's Lake Oologah, a source of municipal water for Tulsa and other communities.
Experts believe the thick, sticky oil had been trapped in vegetation upstream from the lake.
Some offices and factories were re-opening on Wednesday.
Law enforcement officers and National Guard troops were watching the flooded areas, and residents were being discouraged from returning to their homes until city and county inspectors were able to check them.
Homes must be dry before electricity and gas could be restored, said one official.
The Salvation Army was serving meals and distributing donations that had poured in since Sunday.
People were being discouraged from bringing more clothing, but donations of tools, such as shovels, hoses, gloves, boots and drills, were being welcomed, a Salvation Army spokesman said.
The flooding has forced at least 1-thousand people from their homes throughout southeast Kansas
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