1 death, hundreds of car crashes reported as 3 months' worth of rain slams Dallas
Officials have announced one fatality after three months' worth of rain pounded the Dallas area overnight.
A 60-year-old woman was killed when her vehicle was swept away by flood waters, Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins announced on Twitter Monday afternoon.
Eastern Dallas saw a whopping 15.16 inches of rainfall -- a one-in-a-thousand-year flood.
During an average summer, Dallas sees a total of 8 inches of rain.
Clay did not release the woman's identity.
A body was pulled from a vehicle near the Scyene Road Bridge in Mesquite, Texas, about 15 miles east of Dallas, ABC Dallas affiliate WFAA reported. The car was discovered as the water receded, city officials said.
At one point overnight, the rainfall rate climbed to 3 inches per hour, forcing drivers to abandon their cars on roads.
The Fort Worth Fire Department said it responded to 133 high water calls. Dallas Fire-Rescue said it responded to 186 high water incidents and 314 car crashes.
Jenkins declared a state of disaster in the county Monday night.
"Based on preliminary damage assessments, I am declaring a state of disaster in Dallas County and requesting state and federal assistance for affected individuals," Jenkins tweeted.
This comes after the Dallas area faced an exceptional drought, the highest category assigned by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The rain is now shifting east and will reach eastern Texas, northern Louisiana and central Mississippi by Monday evening.
Louisiana and Mississippi are forecast to get hit with 6 inches of rain in just one or two days, which could cause flooding Tuesday and Wednesday.
ABC News' Kenton Gewecke and Melissa Griffin contributed to this report.
