A man in Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma, died on Wednesday after being swept away by flooding caused by heavy rain, as around 16 million people in Oklahoma, Texas, and Missouri were placed under high water alerts. The tragic incident occurred when the man’s vehicle was pulled off the road around 12:30 p.m. A sheriff’s deputy who attempted to rescue him also became trapped but was ultimately saved by firefighters. However, efforts to reach the man in distress were unsuccessful, and he was pronounced dead at the scene. The sheriff’s office expressed condolences to his family in a social media statement.
The flooding was part of a severe weather system linked to a stalled frontal boundary, affecting central Oklahoma and the Dallas area, where significant rainfall led to road and area inundation. On the same day, heavy rain resulted in the deaths of four individuals in Pennsylvania, including one victim who was electrocuted while trying to extinguish a mulch fire.
Reports indicated that Wichita Falls, Texas, received about two inches of rain, and Lawton, Oklahoma, received 2.8 inches on that day, with radar estimates suggesting some areas encountered up to eight inches over the preceding 72 hours. Additionally, tornado watches were issued for an area housing nearly five million residents, covering eastern Texas to northern Louisiana.
On the ground, local authorities in Oklahoma were preparing for potential rescues, utilizing airboats to monitor flooding conditions. While the heaviest rains were moving out by Wednesday afternoon, flooding effects were expected to persist, particularly along rivers, as further thunderstorms were anticipated to shift towards the Mississippi, Ohio, and Tennessee valleys on Thursday.
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