OKLAHOMA CITY — Record-busting rainfall and ensuing flooding in Oklahoma led to at least one death, officials confirmed Tuesday, a day after several dramatic rescues of people who took to treetops and roofs to escape swift-moving waters.
A man who drove onto a submerged street drowned after being swept away while trying to push his stalled car off the roadway in Lawton, said Comanche County Emergency Management director Chris Killmer. The body of Miguel Lopez, 50, was found lodged against a bridge over a canal, Lawton Police Chief Ronnie Smith said.
Lopez’s death was the only fatality reported during Monday’s deluge.
The Oklahoma State Department of Health reported 136 injuries but none requiring hospitalization.
Fire officials in Oklahoma City and the nearby suburb of Edmond launched more than 60 swift-water rescues after thunderstorms dumped as much as 10 inches of rain in some areas in a matter of hours. More rain fell Monday night, and the National Weather Service said the 7.62 inches at Will Rogers International Airport in Oklahoma City topped the previous record of 7.53 inches set Sept. 22, 1970.
“We were lucky to get the people out of the high-water areas,” said Oklahoma City Fire Department Battalion Chief Tommy Iago. “The places we couldn’t walk them out, we used boats.”
One boat carrying rescuers in Oklahoma City sank just as it reached a 17-year-old girl, forcing firefighters to take to treetops and await help themselves.
