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Huge vortex 'capable of sucking in a full-sized boat' forms on Lake Texoma near Texas-Oklahoma border

The vortex occurred following record rainfall and the need to drain the lake

Kiran Moodley
Saturday 27 June 2015 02:27 BST
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A huge vortex has appeared on Lake Texoma, bordering Texas and Oklahoma, as authorities drain the area after intense flooding.

The two states have seen record levels of rainfall in some areas and the US Army Corps of Engineers needed to drain water from Lake Texoma into the Denison Dam spillway.

When they performed this in early June, a large vortex, measuring 8 feet in diameter was created, with Edward Johnson, the man who filmed the whirlpool, saying that it was "capable of sucking in a full-sized boat."

A spokesman for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Brannen Parrish, said in an interview with The Dallas Morning News that the vortex was not an unusual occurrence when draining the lake and that while it was incredibly powerful, there were sufficient buoys around the vortex to prevent boats and other vessels from going anywhere near.

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