AUSTIN (Nexstar) — Record-setting rainfall Monday brought floods and damage to many parts of Texas. Flash floods in north Texas put busy roads underwater, trapping drivers. Some had to swim to safety, others were saved by rescue teams. A 60-year-old woman, a rideshare driver, died on a flooded Dallas-Fort Worth road.
Brittany Taylor of Dallas was one of many who woke up Monday to her entire apartment flooded, just two days after she moved in.
“I looked out the window, and I might as well have been on a boat because the water was so high outside,” she said.
Taylor said because she had just moved in, she wasn’t sure if the loud rain noises were normal or not. When she finally got out of bed, she looked out the window and saw the flooded streets, only to find it had made its way into her apartment.
“That was my dream apartment. I didn’t even get to have a housewarming party,” she said.
Between her apartment and car, Taylor guesses she lost tens of thousands worth of property. Friends and family have quickly rallied behind her, starting a GoFundMe to help her recover.
“This apartment for me was such a milestone of me being able to provide for myself. It’s been a journey to get here. And in one night, I lost my apartment and my car. It’s one of my biggest financial setbacks,” she said. “I wish I was in a position where I could take care of myself and not need help.”
Some parts of the Dallas-Fort Worth area saw upward of 15 inches of rain in a five to six-hour timespan. At a press conference Tuesday morning with state leaders, Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson said the city is assessing how infrastructure held up but acknowledged that amount of rain in a short period of time would be tough for even more flood-prepared cities.
On Tuesday, Governor Abbott went to Dallas, where he signed a disaster declaration for 23 counties affected by the severe weather.
The rain comes at a time when Texas is facing a serious drought. It’s welcomed by farmers and ranchers, even though it may have come too late to make a difference for this year’s crops and cattle.
“We had a great year last year, can’t complain, but this year is for the birds,” said Deborah Hajda, owner of Raising Five Cattle Company in Williamson County.
Hajda said her family’s operations haven’t had the best harvest this year. Their corn crop is mostly stalks, she said, and their cotton never did bloom.
She said the drought along with inflation has driven up feed costs, pushing other ranchers to sell their cattle to offload the burden of feeding them. Hajda said this could have a ripple effect in the grocery store in the near future.
“It’s going to be a three-year hit on this industry,” said Hajda. “You sell off mommas, babies, pregnant mommas, you can’t get those back in the market for three years – so beef could get expensive.”
But there are signs the tide may be turning when it comes to the drought.
“Overall, the drought is not fixed by far, but we are seeing some measurable and significant improvements,” said meteorologist David Yeomans.
He pointed to a map showing last week’s drought conditions across Texas. Then, much of the state was shown to be facing extreme, even exceptional drought. This week’s map shows improvement.
“Much of the state is still in bad drought conditions, but certainly not as bad as it was,” Yeomans said as he looked at the shifting lines on the drought map.
Yeomans also pointed to encouraging signs in the longer-term outlook to ease the drought.
We are seeing consistent signs of wetter than normal weather not only for the next week, not only for the next two weeks through the start of September, but all the way into the beginning of fall,” Yeomans explained.
“Signs are in our favor for continued slow, steady drought improvement through at least November 30,” he added.
Back at her ranch, Hajda said she’s staying optimistic about the future.
“You can’t get into the doom and gloom of the drought,” said Hajda. “Having been through them before, if you can get a 2-inch rain in August, that’s a great sign.”
