A state of disaster was declared in Dallas County Monday afternoon, opening the door to state and federal assistance for North Texans affected by flooding.
Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins made the announcement on social media, urging residents to report damage using an online form. That form can be found here, on the Texas Division of Emergency Management website.
"Reporting damages to Emergency Management is a voluntary activity, is not a substitute for reporting damage to your insurance agency, and does not guarantee disaster relief assistance," Jenkins tweeted.
Thunderstorms drenched North Texas from Sunday to Monday, breaking a record set more than 100 years ago. Preliminary estimates indicate nearly 15 inches of rain fell in East Dallas from Sunday afternoon through Monday morning.
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The 24-hour rainfall is the second-highest on record for any day in North Texas and pushed this August to the second wettest on record.
Emergency crews across the region have been busy since the overnight hours with high water rescues. One person is confirmed to have died as a result of the flooding after her vehicle was swept away by floodwaters in Mesquite, firefighters say.
In Balch Springs, where last month a grass fire that started in a tinder-dry open field damaged over two dozen homes, officials were rescuing people from flooded homes on Monday.
“The water has nowhere to go and the creeks are starting to kind of flood over some. We’re just having them hunker in place until we can get to them by boat,” said Fire Chief Eric Neal, who did not yet have a count of the number of rescues done.
As of 4 p.m. Monday, Dallas Fire-Rescue said crews have responded to 225 high water incidents across the city since 6 p.m. Sunday.
RECORD RAINFALL AND FLOODING IN NORTH TEXAS
