flooding in texas and oklahoma: may 24, 2015

Heavy rains caused severe flooding in parts of Texas and Oklahoma on Sunday.  As waters rose, river banks burst, and hundreds of homes were destroyed across the region.  The Blanco River, one of the worst hit rivers in Texas crested at 43ft, some 30ft above the designated flood stage and 7ft higher than the 1929 record.  There were at least 3 reported deaths, with another 12 reported missing. Hundreds of homes have been damaged or destroyed.

The National Weather Service says recent storms have set a new monthly rainfall record for Oklahoma City — 18.19 inches through Saturday. The previous May rainfall record was 14.52 inches in 2013, and the previous all-time monthly rainfall total was 14.66 inches in June 1989.