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Flash Flooding in Texas, Kentucky Kills 2

By weather.com

September 24, 2018

image
Water floods out of the banks of White Rock Creek onto the Flagpole Hill Trail in Dallas, Saturday, Sept. 22, 2018.
(Brian Elledge/The Dallas Morning News via AP)

At a Glance

  • A 23-year-old man was swept off a bridge in Arlington, Texas, as flooding worsened in the Lone Star State.
  • Residents scrambled onto roofs as dozens of homes were flooded in Texas.
  • In Kentucky, one person died and many other drivers were caught in floodwaters.
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Flooding in Texas was blamed for one death and damage to dozens of homes over the weekend, and as the rainfall moved east, parts of the Ohio Valley were swamped Sunday and Monday. Sunday afternoon, the flooding in Kentucky claimed another life.

In Arlington, Texas, authorities are investigating the death of a 23-year-old man who was swept off a bridge near the University of Texas at Arlington campus. His body was recovered about 2 a.m. Saturday. His identity has not been released.

More than 8 inches of rain fell at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport between Friday and Saturday, the Dallas Morning News reported.

Tom Bradshaw, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Fort Worth, told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that Friday night’s rain set a new record for the wettest September in the area. The previous record, 10.8 inches of rain throughout the month, was set in 1932. After Friday’s rain, this September has seen 11.03 inches of rain so far.

(MORE: Where Severe Weather Could Fire up This Week)

The Dallas Fire Department said at least 15 people were rescued from the rising waters at about 7 a.m. Saturday, including five Dallas police officers and a motorist, the Associated Press reports. The officers became trapped while trying to rescue the motorist.

Up to 45 homes in Everman, south of Fort Worth, were damaged by floodwaters as some residents were forced to scramble onto roofs to escape rising water.

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"We had residents stranded up on top of their homes. People begging for help, screaming for help," Everman police Chief Craig Spencer told KXAS-TV.

Austin fire officials said some 60 people attending a wedding reception were rescued from rising waters that surrounded the venue early Saturday. Some at the reception were forced to climb trees to avoid the water, officials said.

In the Central Texas city of Killeen, patients were evacuated to other medical care facilities when a lightning strike knocked out power to Metroplex Hospital. Thirty-four patients were transported and there were no reports of injuries, according to a hospital statement.

San Antonio is also breaking rainfall records. The National Weather Service office for Austin and San Antonio said San Antonio saw the most rain in the month of September with 16.82 inches through Saturday. It added that another 1.26 inches of rain would make it the wettest month on record.

Deadly Flooding Strands Drivers on Kentucky Roads

As the heavy rain pushed eastward, parts of the Ohio Valley also saw flooding. In Bourbon County, Kentucky, officials confirmed the death of Holli Pennington, 23, who died Sunday afternoon when her vehicle was swept away by fast-moving flood water, the AP reported. Pennington was working as an intern at a horse farm in Paris, Kentucky; she was from Lamar, Colorado, local media said.

In Scott County, several drivers had to be rescued after they became stuck in flooding, the sheriff's office said in a Facebook post. At least one vehicle was overturned by the floodwaters in Scott County, but everyone was able to escape before it was overtaken by the water.

"It came in pretty fast, I put the car in reverse but then we realized there is flooding behind us," Trista Taboada, who was inside the car, told WKYT.com. "Water started rushing in and out so we decided it was time to abandon ship."

In Anderson County, fire crews used flood water in an attempt to extinguish a barn fire that burned Monday morning, according to LEX18.com. The barn and a tractor were destroyed by the fire but nobody was hurt, the report added.

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