These floods were caused the day before, the day of the American national holiday, by torrential rains in the center of Texas, which resumed in the night but with a lesser intensity.
“So far we have found 27 deceased,” said Kerr County Sheriff Larthia, at a press conference, adding that these were 18 adults and nine minors.
About 860 people were evacuated, including eight injuries, he added. Two of them, aged 9 and 8, are among the victims, report the local media, citing their families.
Eight meters in 45 minutes
According to the authorities, the level of the Guadalupe river rose approximately eight meters in 45 minutes, during which it fell “nearly 300 millimeters/hour of rain, a third of the average annual precipitation of the county.
“He fell in one day what he usually falls in a year,” Gérardo Martinez, 61, a restaurateur whose establishment is located near a point of view on the river, told AFP. “Water has reached the top of the trees,” he said, evoking “cars and whole houses swept away” by the waves.
Many rescues in progress
Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced on Friday evening that he “signed a disaster declaration to ensure that local officials have all means to continue to face the floods”.
“Texas will do everything to ensure that each missing person has been found,” he wrote on his X account.
About 500 rescuers and 14 helicopters were deployed, while the Texas National Guard and the Coast Guard sent reinforcements. “More than 300 millimeters of rain fell overnight,” said meteorological services, reporting floods from several rivers in the region.
“Many rescue operations are underway,” they say, recommending the surrounding population to go “to height areas”. In mid-June, at least ten people had perished due to floods in San Antonio following torrential rains.
Sudden floods, caused by torrential rains that the dry soil cannot absorb, are not uncommon. But according to the scientific community, climate change caused by human activity have made meteorological events more frequent and more intense such as floods, droughts and heat waves.
