DALLAS, July 29 (UPI) -- Scores of people were rescued from flooded cars and houses Thursday after thunderstorms dumped up to 13 inches of rain in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
Lancaster, a small town south of Dallas, was hardest hit by the overnight storms. Firefighters reported 19 high-water rescues but fortunately no loss of life. Water even poured through the roof of the City Hall dispatch station.
About 200 homes were flooded in the Dallas suburb and Red Cross shelters were being set up to aid families.
In Dallas, the fire department responded to 1,800 calls, most of them in the southeast part of the city. All nine of the city's rescue boats were deployed and in one case people were rescued from the roof of a flooded service station.
The deluge created chaos on freeways. Dallas rescue crews responded to 88 major car crashes during a 12-hour period, including five overturned truck trailers. Firefighters were called to 15 fires, most of them caused by lightning strikes.
