Floods caused by torrential rains have killed at least twenty-four in Texas, in the south of the United States, according to a new assessment established on Friday July 4 by the local authorities.
“I can confirm that at that time, we have about twenty-four dead.” said at a Larry Leitha press conference, the Sheriff of Kerr County. A previous assessment reported at least thirteen dead, including children, and around twenty missing in the sudden flood of the Guadalupe river.
Earlier, Texas Deputy Governor Dan Patrick said he was “Without news from around twenty” Of children out of the 750 who participated in a summer camp for girls, Patrick said at a press conference. “This does not mean that they are among the victims, they could be in a tree or without communication”he added. The deputy governor read a message from the director of the summer camp saying that he had suffered “Floods of a catastrophic level” and not have “Neither electricity, nor water, nor Wi-Fi”.
An increase of eight meters from the water level in 45 minutes
According to the authorities, the level of the Guadalupe river, which crosses the area, rose about eight meters in forty-five minutes during which it fell “Nearly 300 millimeters per 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.
An official of the County of Kerr, Rob Kelly, underlined the sudden nature of these floods which occurred around 4 am in this region however used to this type of phenomenon. “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”.
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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 twenty-four hours out of twenty-four. We will not stop until everyone has been found ”said Mr. Abbott.
About 500 rescuers and fourteen helicopters were deployed, while the Texas National Guard and the United States Coast Guard sent reinforcements.
“Another wave arrives”
“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 “Towards areas in height”.
In mid-June, at least ten people had perished in floods in San Antonio, also in Texas, following torrential rains.
