By — Joshua Barajas Joshua Barajas Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/hundreds-rescued-texas-continues-weather-record-rainfall Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Hundreds rescued from floodwaters as Texas endures record rainfall Nation May 29, 2015 12:14 PM EDT More than 200 people were rescued from their cars in Dallas early Friday after overnight record rainfall triggered flash floods that trapped them in their vehicles. Rescue crews worked through the early morning hours to help stranded motorists. Assistant emergency management coordinator Kevin Oden told NBC News there were no immediate injuries or deaths. After enduring days of torrential storms, the Dallas-Ft. Worth area was ravaged with heavy rains, making this month the wettest May in history, local station NBC 5 reported. By 8 a.m. Friday, North Texas received more than 16 inches of rain this month, trumping the previous record for May 1982 at nearly 14 inches. Elsewhere in Texas, 21 people were rescued from a houseboat in Lake Travis in Austin when it broke free from the marina, the Austin American-Statesman reported. Video by NBC 5 The deluge has also reversed the dangerously dry conditions for a state that was in the middle of an historic four-year drought. Rivers and lakes are now overflowing, once-low reservoirs are now nearly full, and the U.S. Drought Monitor maps of Texas are no longer marked with red, used to distinguish areas that face the worst droughts. The recent onslaught of storms in Texas and Oklahoma has claimed at least 24 lives. Fourteen people in Texas remain missing. According to the latest forecasts, the saturated states will have to brace for more rainfall until this weekend. We're not going anywhere. Stand up for truly independent, trusted news that you can count on! Donate now By — Joshua Barajas Joshua Barajas Joshua Barajas is a senior editor for the PBS NewsHour's Communities Initiative. He's also the senior editor and manager of newsletters. @Josh_Barrage
More than 200 people were rescued from their cars in Dallas early Friday after overnight record rainfall triggered flash floods that trapped them in their vehicles. Rescue crews worked through the early morning hours to help stranded motorists. Assistant emergency management coordinator Kevin Oden told NBC News there were no immediate injuries or deaths. After enduring days of torrential storms, the Dallas-Ft. Worth area was ravaged with heavy rains, making this month the wettest May in history, local station NBC 5 reported. By 8 a.m. Friday, North Texas received more than 16 inches of rain this month, trumping the previous record for May 1982 at nearly 14 inches. Elsewhere in Texas, 21 people were rescued from a houseboat in Lake Travis in Austin when it broke free from the marina, the Austin American-Statesman reported. Video by NBC 5 The deluge has also reversed the dangerously dry conditions for a state that was in the middle of an historic four-year drought. Rivers and lakes are now overflowing, once-low reservoirs are now nearly full, and the U.S. Drought Monitor maps of Texas are no longer marked with red, used to distinguish areas that face the worst droughts. The recent onslaught of storms in Texas and Oklahoma has claimed at least 24 lives. Fourteen people in Texas remain missing. According to the latest forecasts, the saturated states will have to brace for more rainfall until this weekend. We're not going anywhere. Stand up for truly independent, trusted news that you can count on! Donate now