LUBBOCK, Texas -
City streets and parks were turned into rivers and lakes Wednesday after several inches of rain. The National Weather Service reports 5-7" fell in parts of southwest Lubbock.
Janet Hansen said she was visiting Lubbock for the day from Tahoka.
"On my phone, the alarm went off and we thought oh it's nothing, but we went outside and it was really pouring," Hansen said. The alarm on her phone was a Flash Flood Warning.
Hansen said she went to South Plains Mall to escape the rain, but the water wouldn't keep out.
"It wasn't that deep, it was enough to get your feet wet," Hansen said. "Probably six inches. Not that bad."
Outside, though, it was bad, with cars almost submerged across the city.
In Dupree Park, fire rescue crews responded to a car possibly in the lake. Dive teams searched the lake as a precaution but found nothing.
"This is the only actual callout of swift water or the dive team that we've had today, but there have been numerous, numerous times when one of our engine crews or truck crews are coming back from a call and see stranded vehicles," said Steve Holland with the Lubbock Fire Department.
Major thoroughfares were impassable, with many closed for much of the day.
""Those major streets are designed to be part of our flood control system. They're feeder streets that feed into our playa lakes, they feed into the stormwater drainage areas," Holland said. "Those streets are going to have more water on them typically, than the smaller residential streets just a few blocks over."
Lubbock is one of 31 counties declared a State of Disaster by Gov. Greg Abbott.
Abbott says as the state continues to face waves of severe weather and potential flooding, it is crucial that we remain vigilant.
Last Friday, Abbott elevated the activation level of the State Operations Center in Austin to high alert. The declaration authorizes the use of all available state resources.
