Life-threatening flash flood threats continue to hit Gulf states
Several flash flood emergencies continued to hit Gulf states Thursday night into Friday morning as the remnants of Tropical Storm Arthur, the first named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, wreaked havoc, resulting in at least one death and serious damage in several cities.
And the forecast shows more heavy rain and extreme weather heading toward the region this weekend.
In Louisiana, Gov. Jeff Landry declared a statewide emergency in response to the storm, citing widespread rainfall, severe storms and flooding concerns across the state.
The emergency order follows reports of tornadoes and more than a foot of rain in some areas over a 24-hour period. State officials said the storm has caused dangerous conditions, including flooding, downed trees and damage to homes and businesses.
A flash flood warning in Dallas escalated Friday to "considerable" with 2 inches per hour rainfall rates and at least 4 inches of rain fallen so far, according to the National Weather Service.
The city's emergency management department reported that multiple roads in downtown Dallas were impassable due to high water, especially under overpasses.
Several flash floods took place overnight Thursday in Seminary and Sanford, Louisiana, where homes and businesses were taking in water due to more than 10 inches of rainfall, according to the NWS.
Water rescues took place overnight as vehicles were stranded and left in flood waters.
Parts of Louisiana reported more than 20 inches of rainfall, according to the NWS. Plaucheville and Moreauville were hit especially hard, with more than 100 homes flooded, NWS noted.
Some cars in these neighborhoods were seen floating down roads.
Meanwhile, the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency said crews were at the scene of the Anchor Lake Dam, located near the city of Carriere, in southern Mississippi, to monitor the conditions there but reported the dam "has not been breached" and was functioning as designed.
However, about 30 homes had been evacuated as a precautionary measure.
In a social media post Thursday, Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said the dam was being monitored.
"At this time, according to MDEQ, the system is functioning as designed – water is flowing through the primary and auxiliary spillways. However, there is very little storage capacity remaining and there is additional precipitation predicted. If that happens, it could quickly overwhelm the spillways and compromise the structure," he said.
Reeves also said a county road crew worker was killed during cleanup operations in Franklin County, in southwestern Mississippi.
The Pearl River County Office of Emergency Services said in an update late Thursday that the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality had identified areas of erosion around the dam caused by the recent heavy rainfall but "expressed a high level of confidence in the dam’s structural integrity."
The agency lifted an evacuation order for homes near the dam later Thursday night, but officials urged residents to pay attention to alerts.
Earlier, the NWS said a flash flood emergency was issued for Anchor Lake Dam and areas downstream on the East Hobolochitto Creek.
The NWS had earlier reported that the Anchor Lake Dam had failed, citing local emergency management, though it later issued an update that the dam "is being monitored for possible failure."
A rare High Risk, level 4 of 4, for life-threatening flood potential was in place over southern Mississippi, southern Alabama and western Florida panhandle along the central Gulf Coast Thursday, the NWS said.
Historically, a third of all flood-related fatalities and 80% of all flood-related damages occur in such high-risk areas, according to NWS data.
On Friday, the NWS issued a level 3 of 4 flash flood risk in place for parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida panhandle, as rainfall rates of 2 to 3 inches per hour are possible.
A flood watch extends from eastern Louisiana through central Georgia through Friday.
Forecasters are also watching the soil conditions in these areas.
Since some locations saw over a foot of rain in the last 24 hours, any additional heavy rain on the ground will quickly lead to heightened flash flood risks, according to the NWS.
One of the reasons for the continuing flood threats across the South is how incredibly moist the atmosphere is overhead, which is translating into dangerous heat indices.
Feels-like temperatures are soaring above 110 degrees from Texas to Florida.
New Orleans is under a heat advisory today for heat indices up to 110, Houston up to 112 and Corpus Christi up to 114.
Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect that the Anchor Lake Dam has not failed, as previously reported by the National Weather Service, and to correct the spelling of the Anchor Lake Dam.
ABC News' Jason Volack and Jack Moore contributed to this report.
