'Turn around don't drown': Lawton's fire chief urges Oklahomans to avoid powerful floodwaters

Lawton firefighters are warning Oklahomans to stay clear of deadly flash flooding, as the state braces for another stretch of rain.

The city is still drying out from this weekend's storms, with rushing water powerful enough to carry vehicles away.

“At the height of it we had over 60 rescue calls going on over the city. We rescued 73 citizens from the flood water Saturday,” said Chief Jared Williams, Lawton Fire Department.

Issac Teran videoed the rain and hail that pelted his Lawton apartment.

“We got notifications about a flash flood, but I didn’t think it was going to be this extreme,” said Teran.

Teran and his wife quickly realized the rain wasn’t letting up.

“We knew it was going to be bad,” said Teran.

His time-stamped video, shot from his balcony, showed just 20 minutes after rain started to fall — cars were partially submerged.

“Her anxiety levels were through the roof,” said Teran.            

Teran's wife can be heard screaming as a car floats past their apartment. Her vehicle was eventually submerged.

“Her car is totaled, there was mud in the engine from how high the water rose,” said Teran. 

“We’ve had flooding before, but we haven’t seen flash flooding quite this significant in town,” said Williams.

As the rain poured in, so did the calls for help.

“Our dispatch did a great job of handling 500 to 1000 phone calls in a short amount of time,” said Williams.

The rushing water was a force to be reckoned with.

“These cars looked like they've been in tornadoes, or turned around and it’s all just water and pressure moving them downstream, in our creeks,” said Williams.

Firefighters and police divers recovered the body of an 81-year-old man from his submerged pickup.

“Our heart goes out to him — his family,” said Williams.

The following day, firefighters and wreckers worked to pull vehicles from a creek and said the images should serve as a powerful warning.

“If you don’t have to be out in it, don’t,” said Williams.