Flash Flooding and Flooding in Texas, September 11 to 14, 2009

Significant flash flooding occurred in southern Bell County when 9-15 of rain fell in less than 10 hours. The town of Salado was hit the hardest during the early afternoon hours. Salado Creek that runs through town overflowed its banks and forced the evacuations of approximately 12 families. The rapid rise in the creek also heavily damaged the Main Street Bridge, ripping the asphalt from the bridge and forcing its closure through October 14th. In other areas of Salado, the water was reported to be nearly 10 feet over some bridges and some homes were flooded with up to two feet of water. In addition, Interstate 35 near the Bell/Willimason county line had to be closed for a few hours and other parts of the interstate were down to one lane due to water on the road. The access roads of Interstate 35 between Salado and the Bell/Williamson county line were also closed due to water over the roads. Many of these road closures began during the early afternoon hours. In the town of Bartlett, 5 of water was reported to be flooding streets, and 5 of water was also reported over FM 487, east of Bartlett. Additional roads in the southern portions of the county were flooded and closed as well.

Localized flash flooding was reported in Temple. The intersection of First Street and south Loop 363 had to be closed and so did the eastbound access road of Loop 363 in front of Kings' Daughters Hospital.

A home in Murphy was completely destroyed on the interior by a fire that was started from a lightning strike.

Lightning started a fire at a home in Murphy that caused minor damage to the home.

Ongoing flooding continued in southern Bell County and additional rainfall during this period kept much of the area flooded. The town of Salado remained flooded and several roads in the southern portions of the county remain closed due to high water.

The exit ramp from Interstate 35 onto Illinois Avenue was closed due to high water. Seven cars went around the barricades and were stranded in the high water.

Several inches of water were flowing over Mountain Creek Parkway because ditches along the road were overflowing.

The Sheriff's Office reported that numerous county roads across the county were closed due to high water.

Significant flash flooding occurred across mainly the southern half of Dallas County from continuous rainfall that lasted nearly 12 hours. The Dallas EOC reported several streets southeast of downtown Dallas had to be closed. Also, the area north of Interstate 30 and south of the Trinity River in west Dallas was significantly flooded when the water pump system failed due to the heavy rainfall. Several intersections along Carrier Parkway and other major roads in Grand Prairie were flooded. Numerous other roadways in southwest Dallas County were flooded. High water rescues were performed in the southern portions of Dallas County, Interstate 45 at Simpson Stuart was closed, and the exit ramp from Interstate 35 to Illinois Avenue was closed.

Widespread flooding was reported in Rockdale. Numerous streets were closed and Highway 79 west of Rockdale was closed due to high water. High water was also reported in parts of Milano and Cameron. FM 1915 at Big Elm Creek and FM 486 at the Little River had to be closed. Other county roads that were closed at some point during this time were CRs 119, 120, 147, 203, 230, 335, 402, 405, 408, 412, and 414.

Several flooded areas were reported across the county but the city of Burleson was impacted the most. Numerous roads were closed in Burleson and cars were stranded in water in the city. A few residents had to be evacuated on Bowden Circle between 4-5 am CST. In Joshua, five water rescues in automobiles were needed on CRs 913, 914, 1021, and 705 and Indian Hills. Several streets in the city of Joshua were also closed for several hours. The fire department in Joshua reported the floodwaters began to recede in Joshua around 645 am CST. Other road closures were reported across the county.

Significant flooding was observed across the far southern and far western portions of Tarrant County. Road closures were widespread in Arlington, Crowley, and Mansfield. Cars were stuck in water and high water rescues were required.

Residual flooding of County Roads and numerous roads in the city of Rockdale continued until the late evening hours. Many roads remains closed throughout the day.

Roads were closed around Axtell due to water over the roads.

Roads were closed in the Spring Lake area due to water over the roads.

Significant flooding was reported across Ellis County from heavy rainfall that fell in just a few hours. It was reported that over 10 of rain fell in parts of the northern portions of the county. Water was reported over the road at Interstate 35E, mile marker 395. Water was over the road on Highway 77 near Italy and high water rescues were reported in the Ferris area. A local newspaper listed several roads that were closed around the county, including part of the I-35E service road, the service roads along I-45 (in the Palmer area), and numerous County Roads and Farm-to-Market roads around the county. Another local newspaper also reported that the water was 3 feet deep in Bristol on FM 660.

Residual flooding continued across Ellis County into the next day. Additional periods of rainfall caused additional problems across the county. In particular, the service roads along Interstate 45 in Palmer remained under water, the southbound exit of Interstate 45 at mile maker 258 was under water, parts of FM 660 in Bristol remained under 3' of water, and several roads across the county remained closed.

Significant flooding continued across the southern and southwestern portions of Dallas County. Several roads remained closed. Also, the area north of Interstate 30 and south of the Trinity River in west Dallas remained flooded.

Numerous roads in eastern Navarro County were closed due to high water. TxDOT had to close several of the roads.

Residual flooding of numerous roads in eastern Navarro County continued into the overnight hours. Several of these roads remained closed.