FORT WORTH, Texas (Reuters) - A heat wave roasting the U.S. South brought added misery to the sweltering city of Fort Worth on Friday as city officials ordered water rationing after a water main broke and flooded a pumping station. The city‘s half a million residents and surrounding suburbs were ordered to use water only for drinking, cooking and bathing at least until Monday. They were barred from using lawn sprinklers, washing cars or other outdoor watering. The water main ruptured on Thursday night, spewing up to 38 million liters of water into the air and flooding a pumping station. It also briefly cut off water to two city hospitals but caused no medical emergencies. Dale Fisseler, deputy director of the city‘s water department, said the flooding disabled key service pumps, which would have to be dismantled, repaired and re-installed over the weekend. Officials said the water main apparently ruptured under the pressure of unusually high demand because of the heat wave and sun-baked dirt shifting around the pipe. Fort Worth, the neighbouring city of Dallas and the rest of north Texas have endured 18 straight days of triple-digit temperatures, and thermometers again rose above 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 Celsius) on Friday. The heat wave has already been blamed for 130 deaths across the South. It spread across much of the country earlier this week but a cool front sent temperatures back down to normal levels across the Midwest and Northeast on Friday. That front brought no relief, however, to Texas or Oklahoma. Meteorologists said the strong ridge of high pressure causing the heat wave was holding firm and resisting the encroachment of cold fronts from the North. About 90 people have fallen victim to the heat in Texas since June 1, including 49 illegal immigrants who died from exhaustion or hyperthermia as they hiked through the desert and scrubland of south Texas after crossing the border from Mexico. Twenty-four heat-related deaths have been reported in Louisiana, 15 in Oklahoma and three others in the Southwest. President Bill Clinton ordered the release of $100 million in emergency federal funds to 11 Southern and Western states to help people pay for air conditioners, electric fans and utility bills. He also said farmers across Texas would be eligible for disaster assistance, giving them access to low-interest loans to cushion the blow of a long drought that has brought them losses of $1.5 billion.