Oklahoma endures record rainfall

DALLAS — A storm system dumped record amounts of rain in parts of Oklahoma and caused flooding in Texas, including in the Dallas area, where floodwaters swept a man from a bridge to his death near the University of Texas’ campus in nearby Arlington.

“(A) witness ... stated that the victim was swept under a bridge by rushing waters,” shortly before midnight Friday, according to Arlington Fire Department Lt. Mike Joiner.

The man’s body was found a few hours later. His name hasn’t been released.

The Dallas Fire Department said at least 15 people were rescued from the rising waters at about 7 a.m. yesterday, including five Dallas police officers and a motorist. 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.

“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 yesterday. Some at the reception were forced to climb trees to avoid the water, officials said.

A record 14 inches of rain fell Friday at the Oklahoma Climatological Survey’s site in Fittstown, about 75 miles southeast of Oklahoma City, and more than 2 additional inches fell before noon yesterday, said National Weather Service meteorologist Forrest Mitchell in Norman. The previous record of just less than 7 inches was set in July 1997, according to Mesonet records.