Hayes County—in central Texas, where the Blanco River's surging waters wiped out homes along its banks near Wimberley—has suffered more than $32 million in damage.

Two bridges on the Blanco River, the RM 165 Bridge and the Fischer Store Road Bridge, were washed out and will be replaced. TxDOT is planning a $3- million replacement for the RM 165, which it maintains; it does not maintain the other bridge.

No statewide totals are available, but TxDOT had found $27 million in damage to highways by June 1, though 155 were still closed by high water or damage.

"We expect this number to rise as the water goes down," says spokeswoman Becky Ozuna. TxDOT has spent some $3 million in labor and equipment and 53,000 person-hours in response.

TxDOT has approved about 20 emergency contracts—for about $10 million total—through a program that allows qualified contractors to place bids for jobs, spokesman Nick Wade says.

The record May rainfall ended a four-year drought and left so much water that lakes might not return to normal levels until July.

As the rain stopped, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers eased the outflow from river dams to offset record levels of pressure from swollen lakes.

Denison Dam at Lake Texoma, the nation's 12th largest lake, increased outflow to 142,000 cfs on June 1 from 132,000 cfs on May 29, before dropping back to 136,000 cfs on June 2.