Continuous rain Tuesday causes flooding in part of North Texas
DALLAS - The ground cannot take much more. It is already saturated by the rain and that has led to flooding in some of the usual spots across North Texas.
First responders have been forced to make a number of high-water rescues. In one case in Johnson County, emergency management officials said a woman drove through a low-water crossing and her car was washed downstream. Fortunately, it got caught against some trees and firefighters were able to carry her to safety.
FOX 4 Meteorologist Evan Andrews said the lakes are pretty full across North Texas. Some are even at the point of flooding. But the rain isn't stopping any time soon.
In Grand Prairie, the water is high and still rising near Lynn Creek Marina. It’s hard to even tell where the lake ends and the parking lot begins. Officials had to put up barricades to keep people safe.
In Dallas on Irving Boulevard, cars have been left on flooded roads. The driver of one car needed medical attention after being rescued. There’s no word on the driver’s condition. A part of Mountain Creek Parkway also had to be blocked off. Officers put barriers on the hood of a cruiser and took them to the area since firefighters were so busy.
Arlington's North Operations Office spent the day Tuesday handing out sandbags.
John Bowman has lived in Arlington for 16 years, and he’s never seen it flood this bad. It doesn’t help that his side yard slopes toward his foundation. The sandbags are his best hope.
“It’s a lifesaver and easy to get them,” he said. “Either that or leave.”
25 sandbags are a little tough for any one person to unload and carry across a soggy lawn, and it’s a race against time. Bowman says his rain gauge measured 7 inches in the last two days on top of what’s already saturated the ground.
Across the street, neighbor Bob Ellis has water pooled in his driveway that keeps going into his garage lapping at his back door.
“Goes all the way up to the door when that mat floats. We got an issue,” he said.
In addition to the two dive teams, Fort Worth Fire has ready to go on any given day, they now have two more to cover each corner of the city.
By Wednesday afternoon, two of the teams will be sent south as part of a state task force to assist in the rain-swollen Hill country.
"Don't drive through it you don't know how deep it is. You don't know if the road's washed away, and we don't wanna have to come out and save you,” said Mike Drivdahl with the Fort Worth Fire Department. “Obviously, we're going to but it's better for everybody if we're not having to do that."
Tarrant County is saturated. The Fort Worth spillway is a rushing torrent. Stormwater runoff is filling the Trinity River by the hour.
Area lakes are either at or nearing their capacity. Water is already being let out of Eagle Mountain Lake.
Traffic on University was rerouted around two manholes. Underground rainwater, which infiltrated sewer pipes, caused wastewater to gush into the street.
Fort Worth's Water Department says there have been at least 30 manholes across the city that have popped over the past two days because of gushing water.
Tow truck drivers have been inundated with calls helping out stranded drivers. And first responders, of course, are reminding people to turn around, don’t drown.
“The thing that we talk about all the time is not only do you put yourself in danger but you put firemen in danger. These sort of situations, especially downstream where you have a lot of trees and debris, even trained public safety responders can find it very difficult and challenging to work in that environment,” said Jamie Moore with Johnson County Emergency Management.
Lake Arlington and Benbrook Lake are already four inches above conservation level.
The Tarrant Regional Water District estimates that with the release of water from Eagle Mountain Lake, Lake Worth will be full by Wednesday.