The water flowed swiftly and steadily down the slope of Lake Terrace to E. Lake Highlands Drive, and on toward Dixon Branch, the nearby creek. The waters began to creep up over the banks, and then over the curb, and then covered much of the street. High water had come, but with more rain in the forecast could hell be next?
This wasn’t an uncommon theme last night, as several East Dallas residents dealt with flooding, especially those near creeks and ditches surrounding White Rock Lake Park. While flash flooding in Houston drove home the real danger of getting caught in rising water while in your car, what about those who had never imagined floodwaters invading their normally dry homes?
That’s what had Lori Roberts terrified last night, as she watched the drainage culvert near her Casa View Haven home quickly become the kind of crested rapids that rafters love. But then it topped the concrete banks and crept up the street, and then up her driveway, and then perilously close to her home.
Luckily, the floodwaters never made it inside her home, though they did come up to the wheel wells of her Toyota SUV. Some East Dallas residents weren’t so lucky, with Casa Linda and Casa View neighborhood associations reporting a few flooded homes each. The waters did wash away hefty chunks of gravel and asphalt from streets and alleys, depositing the detritus in yards and driveways up and down streets in the area. So if you thought the potholes were bad before last night’s storms, well, we’re in for a treat now.
We’re still waiting for official numbers on how much water Dallas got last night, but considering that the I-30 underpass at Loop 12 was flooded, causing a major traffic jam, and that roads all over White Rock Lake are still covered in several inches of water, we’ll need a lot of sunshine to dry out.
UPDATE: Reports from NBCDFW (Channel 5) show 4.71 inches since midnight at Love Field.
Other areas taking on water include Goforth near Flag Pole Hill in Lake Highlands, where Realtor Brittney Rhodes captured this image:
My husband reported that this morning, on his way to work in Oak Cliff, it was like a scene from The Walking Dead — several cars had stopped on Garland Road next to the White Rock Lake spillway to take photos and videos of the scene. Here’s a shot from Jason Sellers, featuring Dallas City Councilman-elect Mark Clayton.
Wow. Never seen it like this.
Posted by Jason Sellers on Friday, May 29, 2015
And just in case you’re wondering, the National Weather Service says we’re not in the clear quite yet:
