Devastating floods, caused by torrential rains, left at least 24 dead including children, in Texas, in the south of the United States, according to a new assessment established on Friday by the local authorities.
‘I can confirm that at that time, we have approximately 24 dead’, said at a press conference Larry Lethia, the sheriff of the county of Kerr, later specifying that the assessment was well at 24 deaths.
A previous assessment reported at least 13 dead, including children and twenty missing in the sudden flood of the Guadalupe river, northwest of San Antonio.
‘Children are always missing,’ added the sheriff, adding that between 23 and 25 people had not yet been found.
The authorities are concerned in particular of the fate of some 750 children who participated in a summer camp for girls on the banks of the river.
‘This does not mean that they are among the victims, they could be in a tree or without communication,’ had previously indicated the Deputy Governor of Texas, Dan Patrick, during a press conference.
The deputy governor read in front of the press a message from the director of the summer camp saying that he had suffered ‘floods of a catastrophic level’ and having neither electricity, nor water, nor Wi-Fi ‘.
According to the authorities, the level of the Guadalupe river, which crosses the area, has risen approximately eight meters in 45 minutes in which it fell nearly 300 millimeters/hour of rain, a third of the average annual precipitation of the county.
Videos broadcast on social networks show houses and trees carried away by the flood.
US President Donald Trump said he ‘in shock’ of these terrible floods’.
Other precipitation expected
An official of the county of Kerr, Rob Kelly, underlined the sudden nature of these floods which occurred around 4:00 am in this region however used to this type of phenomena.
‘We have floods all the time. It is the most dangerous river valley in the United States, ‘he said. But ‘we had no reason to believe that it was going to be something like what happened.
The Governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, shared on X a video showing the rescue of a refugee person at the top of a tree by a rescuer suspended from a helicopter, above tumultuous waters.
‘Air rescue missions like this are carried out 24 hours a day. We will not stop as long as everyone has not been found,’ said Mr.abbott.
About 500 rescuers and 14 helicopters were deployed, while the Texas National Guard and the United States Coast Guard sent reinforcements.
‘The rain has calmed down, but we know that another wave arrives, “warned the Director of Public Security of Texas, Freeman Martin, stressing that precipitation was also expected in the areas of San Antonio and Austin.
According to the American ocean and atmospheric observation agency (NOAA), the level of the Guadalupe river rose suddenly during the night, from 2 meters to more than 9 meters, after precipitation.
The weather services have issued a flood alert for the County Center-South Center, calling on the inhabitants to avoid any trip and those living near the Guadalupe river to go to areas in height ‘.
In mid-June, at least ten people had perished due to floods in San Antonio, also in Texas, following torrential rains.
Sudden floods, caused by torrential rains that the dry soil cannot absorb, are not uncommon. But according to some scientists, climate change caused by human activity have made meteorological events more frequent and more intense such as floods, droughts and heat waves.
In addition, in New Jersey, at least two people were killed by the fall of a tree on their vehicle during a violent storm ‘in this northeast state, local police said.
/ATS
