At least one person was killed and dozens of others rescued after record-breaking rainfall soaked the Dallas-Fort Worth area Monday, turning streets into rivers and submerging cars.
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A 60-year-old woman died when her vehicle was swept away by floodwaters, Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said.
Jenkins, the county's top official, declared a state of disaster after more than 15 inches fell in 24 hours in one section of east Dallas.
The region saw its second-wettest 24-hour period ever, with 9.19 inches of rain recorded at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport between Sunday and Monday, the National Weather Service said. The record is 9.57 inches over 24 hours in September 1932.
One part of east Dallas recorded 15.16 inches, while others saw far less, according to the weather service.
In neighboring Fort Worth, firefighters responded to 174 rescues and other high-water investigations, that department tweeted. "This is a day we won’t soon forget" it said.
The Southwest's dangerous flooding Monday overwhelmed the Old West town of Duncan, Arizona, prompting "mass evacuation" and a local state of emergency.
The Duncan Valley Rural Fire District declared the "mass evacuation of flood prone areas in Duncan" early Monday, listing more than a dozen streets in the 712-person town as subject to the order.
Mayor Anne Thurman declared the state of emergency shortly after noon. She cited rainfall since Aug. 15, dangerous flooding and "extreme peril to life and property," according to the declaration.
Thurman formally asked the state for first responder resources.
In an afternoon update, the town said new concerns about the integrity of a century-old river levee that had been breached earlier Monday means evacuees should continue to stay away.
The Gila River, which runs through town on its journey from Gila National Forest in New Mexico to the Colorado River in Yuma, crested after 7 a.m. at 2.5 feet above what's considered its flood state, federal forecasters said. ■