OKLAHOMA CITY – Flooding forced roads to shut down across the metro Thursday.
Portland and Memorial in Northwest Oklahoma City is where a lot of drivers got stuck.
Water under the Kilpatrick Turnpike on Portland got about a foot and a half to two feet deep.
Drivers said it happened so quick, they didn’t see it coming.
The torrential rain transformed roadways into rushing rivers.
“It just came so fast so hard,” said a driver. “There wasn’t anything you could do.”
“It was a river going across the road,” said a driver.
Edmond received nearly half a foot of rain which caused many cars to be submerged.
It was a similar scene all across the Oklahoma City metro.
“Deep,” said a driver.
Drivers were encouraged to stay off the roads, but some were still trying to get to work when the storms hit causing many to get stuck in traffic.
“Coming from Guthrie, it was hailing and coming down,” said a driver. “Tough drive.”
“I’ve been here for an hour,” said a driver.
Officials had both south and northbound lanes on Portland under the Kilpatrick Turnpike blocked off until it was passable.
Cars were forced to turn around and exit south on Memorial, which caused yet another major traffic jam.
“We just went down there, turned around and came back,” said a driver. “There was no getting through.”
“It rained a lot,” said a driver. “There was a lot of water flooding down there. Flooded under the bridge.”
“I got to the point and decided that’s it,” said a driver. “We’re done.”
The Oklahoma City Fire Department says they responded to 22 water rescues Thursday and no injuries or fatalities were reported.
