Storms leave deadly wake in Texas

AUSTIN, Texas -- Residents used a break in rainy weather to repair storm-damaged homes Friday while rescuers found the body of a man whose car was swept into a raging, muddy creek, raising the toll to seven.

Storms throughout the week dumped more than a foot of rain on central Texas, flooding neighborhoods in the capital and swelling creeks and waterways.

Residents of a badly damaged mobile home park in Austin dug through debris during a break in the weather Friday, gathering toys and baby clothes and placing them in white plastic bags.

Carmen Acosta had lived in her trailer only five months. With tears in her eyes, she searched through what remained of her home.

"There is so much water, I don't know what I'll do," she said.

More rain was forecast this weekend.

Dive teams found the body of a woman Friday, the sixth confirmed death related to the storm. Five people drowned Thursday after their vehicles were washed away by floodwaters; another died in a weather-related crash.

Up to 13 inches of rain fell in parts of Texas on Thursday and early Friday, breaking daily records in Austin and San Antonio, the National Weather Service said.

Firefighters plucked stranded motorists from cars bobbing on Austin streets. Businesses near the Capitol were drenched by a flow of muddy water that left about a 2-inch cover of thick mud across the road and parking lots.

Hanging onto tree limbs

The body of Bertha Vargas, a 32-year-old pregnant woman, was found Thursday, more than four hours after the car in which she was riding was swept off a state highway 90 miles northwest of San Antonio.

A man called for help after seeing Vargas and three others hanging on to tree limbs above the waters, said Becky Kott, an Edwards County EMS worker.

"When he went back to the scene, he saw the girl and her father in another tree," Kott said. "She was screaming for him to help and he couldn't do anything. The water was rising and she was swept away."

Authorities on Friday recovered the body of Latoya Bibbs, 19, who was swept downstream from a low-water crossing. Firefighters had rescued two of her friends Thursday before the car was washed away.

Two other men, 64 and 30, died in separate incidents after attempt to drive across flooded roads, authorities said.

Friday afternoon, rescue crews found the body of Chau Do, 27, who called his girlfriend Thursday night as he stood atop his car in a creek northeast of Austin.