Torrential rains equivalent to several months of precipitation fell in a few hours in the region of Texas Hill Country, killing at least 27 people in floods, including 9 children.
The research continued during the night from Friday to Saturday to find many people who have disappeared, including around twenty young girls from a summer camp.
The destructive force of rapid rising waters just before dawn Friday won houses and vehicles. There have been hundreds of rescues around the county of Kerr, including at least 167 by helicopter, according to the authorities.
The total number of disappeared was not known, but the sheriff said that between 23 and 25 of them were girls who had participated in the Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp along the Guadalupe river.
A man, a woman and two children are in the middle of debris on a bridge over the Guadalupe river after a sudden flood which swept the region of Ingram, Texas.
Photo : Associated Press / Julio Cortez
On social networks, parents and families have published desperate calls to obtain information on their relatives stuck in the flooded area.
The camp was completely destroyed
notably said Elinor Lester, 13 years old, one of the hundreds of campers at the Mystic camp. A helicopter landed and started to evacuate people. It was really scary
she said.
The child said that a unleashed storm woke him around 1:30 a.m. Friday morning and when the rescuers arrived, they tied a rope so that the girls hold it while they crossed the bridge with flood waters to the knees.
The flood in the middle of the night of July 4 took many campers and residents by surprise. The officials defended their preparations in the event of extreme weather conditions and their response, but they said that they did not expect such a violent downpour which would, in fact, be the equivalent of several months of rain for this region.
Employees comb the banks of the Guadalupe river.
Photo : Associated Press / Julio Cortez
A forecast of the national weather service this week announced an accumulation of 76 to 152 millimeters of rain, said Nim Kidd, the chief of the emergency management division of Texas.
At a press conference late Friday, Kerr’s county sheriff Larry Leitha confirmed the deaths of 24 people while specifying that 237 other people had been rescued so far.
Helicopters and drones have notably been used in research and rescue operations.
A river gauge in Hunt recorded a 6.7 -meter elevation from the water level in the space of two hours, said Bob Fogarty, meteorologist at the Austin/San Antonio office of the National Meteorological Service. The gauge has stopped operating after saving a 9 meter of water level.
The water moves so quickly that we cannot know how serious the situation is before being flooded.
On the Facebook page of the Kerr County Sheriff’s Bureau, people have published photos of expensive beings asking for help to find them.
Strong rains caused floods along the Guadalupe river in central Texas, causing several victims.
Photo : Getty Images / Eric Vryn
At least 400 people were mobilized for research, according to the Lieutenant-Governor of Texas, Dan Patrick. Nine rescue teams, 14 helicopters and 12 drones were among the research teams, who rescued some survivors who were hung on trees.
The area is known as Flash flood alley
Due to the thin layer of the hills, said Austin Dickson, CEO From the Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country, which amasses donations to help non -profit organizations respond to this disaster.
When it rains, water does not enter the ground
explained Mr. Dickson, stating that the water rushes at the bottom of the hill
.
The river tourism industry is a key part of Hill Country’s economy. The summer camps are well known and attract children from all over the country, according to Mr. Dickson.
It is generally a very quiet river with light blue water, really magnificent, which has attracted people for generations
Austin Dickson said.
