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Waco PD, Fire get 180+ weather calls, 21 water rescues during Sunday's flooding

Flooding in Waco
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WACO, Texas (KXXV) — On Sunday night, Central Texas saw major flooding due to heavy rainfall.

Watch the full story here:

Sunday flooding recap

It left many of our roads and highways inaccessibly including I-35.
As seen on social media, many people had to be rescued or abandone their vehicles in flood waters.

Through a request by 25News, The Waco Police Department said they received 114 weather-related calls for service from 7 PM - 12 AM.

A spokesperson said these calls included high water, drowning vehicles, crashes, or flooded roadways.
They added that no fatalities were reported due to the storm.

Waco Fire telling 25News in an an email they responded to 145 calls for service and said that's more than double their daily average.

Of those calls, 73 incidents were directly related to severe weather and occurred between 7:30 p.m. and 12:00 a.m. Waco Fire officials said.

In that statement, Deputy Chief Philip Burnett said this all placed "significant strain on available resources."

The department said they responded to lightning strikes, electrical incidents, and flooded roadways and structures, and conducted at least 21 water rescues across the city.

Also See: Waco family evacuates home after floodwaters rush inside during Sunday night storms

Also See: Multiple vehicles stranded in high water on I-35 south between Waco and Hewitt

Fire crews also provided specialized rescue assistance to neighboring communities, including Robinson and Hewitt.

Recognizing the forecasted threat, Waco Fire said they proactively up-staffed two additional swiftwater rescue boat crews before the storm arrived.

Waco Fire said in a statement that was "a decision that proved invaluable as conditions rapidly deteriorated."

Waco firefighters worked side-by-side with two boat teams from Texas Task Force 1, the state's Urban Search and Rescue Team, and personnel from the Texas Game Wardens, whose support was "instrumental" in the coordinated response to multiple high-risk water emergencies.


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