Flash floods in the Dallas area take residents by surprise as rescue teams respond to hundreds of calls for help

According to the report, the Dallas-Forth Worth area received record rainfall due to heavy rain and flash floods between Sunday and Monday afternoon. National Weather Service worth ahead, The agency said more than 9 inches fell at Dallas Forth Worth airport in a 24-hour period beginning Sunday, marking the heaviest rainfall the region has seen since 1932.

Business owner Alan Thompson told CNN affiliate KTVT That flood was unlike anything he had seen in his time living in the Dallas suburb of Balch Springs.

When he walked into his heavy equipment rental business on Monday morning, 3 inches of water quickly covered the floor. Within an hour, he told KTVT, the water had risen by almost a foot. He said they would have to close the shop for about a week to assess the damage and clean up.

Brittany Taylor moved into her Dallas apartment just two days before the flood. Most of his belongings were still packed in cardboard boxes, which were soaked with water.

“The last thing I expected was flooding my brand new apartment,” she said. “There was just water flowing through the front door of the apartment. My refrigerator began to float away.”

Jenkins also announced that an unidentified woman was killed when floodwaters washed away her vehicle. According to Mesquite Fire Department Chief Russell Wilson, his car was “probably” swept off the road and was found when the water receded.

Incessant rain drenched an area hit by extreme drought in recent months. More than a quarter of Texas, including the Dallas-Forth Worth area, is under drought designation.

The same storm system affected parts of the southwest over the weekend and parts of the region remain at risk, as nearly 9 million people across the south remain under surveillance for flooding Tuesday.

Driver forced to leave vehicle in rising water

The heavy water level took many residents by surprise as it reached homes and on highways. Several local officials urged residents not to go into the high waters on Monday as the streets were flooded.

In downtown Dallas, Cassondra Anna May Stewart was driving home at 3 a.m. when she noticed Interstate 30 began to become covered with water, she told CNN. In the video he showed water ripples behind the wheels of the car as it continued to rain on the road.

“I was able to get back up on the ramp to get off the highway,” she said. “I took an alternate route to the house … although most of the roads are also flooded.”

According to Dallas Police, hundreds of traffic accidents occurred during the flood.

According to tracking website FlightAware, traffic through Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport was also hit hard, with hundreds of flights to and from the airport canceled and nearly half of its flights delayed.

“No overflow of diluted wastewater has affected the city’s water supply,” said Zachary Peoples, assistant director of the Dallas Water Utilities Department.

The city is recommending that some people in the affected areas use boiled or distilled water.

The sudden rain comes in the midst of a “flash dry” that has brought an exceptionally dry year to areas of Texas, including the areas affected by this week’s floods.

According to the Drought Monitor, in the first half of the year, regions of the state have experienced rainfall deficits ranging between 8-10 inches. But those deficiencies will inevitably be wiped out in Dallas by flooding, while other areas will still experience them, the agency said. In less than 24 hours between Sunday and Monday, Dallas had received an entire summer’s worth of rain—more than 7 inches.

The frequency and intensity of rainfall over land has increased with each degree of warming of the planet since the 1980s.