Heavy rains trigger flash floods and water rescues in Dallas
Heavy rainfall triggered flash floods in northern Texas overnight, leaving vehicles partially submerged along a highway in Dallas early Monday.
Videos posted online show people abandoning their cars along the I-30 freeway in downtown Dallas as police and bystanders making dramatic water rescues.
Footage in one video posted to Twitter showed a first responder swimming past a car that is nearly completely submerged to rescue someone from the floodwaters.
This is what the interstate in Dallas looks like. #flooding #texas #dfw #TxWx pic.twitter.com/KMiOAJZyXM
— WxChasing- Brandon Clement (@bclemms) August 22, 2022
In another video that was streamed live on Facebook, an ambulance appeared to be stuck in rising water along the interstate.
The rain began Sunday. According to the National Weather Service, nearly 10 inches were recorded in Dallas, including 8 inches in under three hours. And it's still raining.
“Rain continues to fall with dangerous flash flooding currently ongoing across Dallas County!" the weather service tweeted early Monday. "AVOID getting out on the roads if possible!"
In downtown Fort Worth, motorists were seen driving through heavily flooded streets, despite warnings from officials not to do so.
“Please avoid roadways if possible. Emergency services are asking everyone to be safe,” the Dallas Police Department tweeted, adding the hashtag "#TurnAroundDontDrown."
There was also a power outage reported at Dallas Fort-Worth Airport, though it's unclear whether the outage was related to the heavy rains.
#NEW @DFWAirport experiencing power outage in Terminal A. Passengers catching flights at this terminal who need to check their bags are being sent to other terminals. The airport is shuttling people. The airport says it’s encouraging people to stay in touch w/ airlines. @CBSDFW pic.twitter.com/qGPMbRUsWp
— Jack Fink (@cbs11jack) August 22, 2022
The drought-stricken region needed the rain, just not all at once. According to the National Weather Service, Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport recorded more than 7 inches of rain — an entire summer's worth — between Sunday afternoon and Monday morning.
The storm system that unleashed the deluge in Texas was forecast to move east into Louisiana, Arkansas and Alabama, where 13 million people were under flood warnings and watches.
Heavy rain also wreaked havoc in Arizona and in Utah, where several hikers were swept off their feet by flash floods in Zion National Park.
The National Park Service said Sunday that search and rescue teams were looking for a 29-year-old woman who had been missing since Friday afternoon when she was swept away by rushing water in the popular Narrows area of the park.
