Rescuers are looking for around thirty children who have disappeared in Texas on Saturday, in the south of the United States, after violent floods which left at least 27 dead according to a latest provisional assessment.
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.
Among the approximately 750 children who participated in a Christian summer camp for girls on the banks of the Guadalupe river, 27 lack the call, said the administrative manager of the city of Kerrville, Dalton Rice.
“Today will be a difficult day” for the population, warned the mayor, Joe Herring, the voice strangled by sobs.
“We will not stop as long as everyone has not been found,” said the sheriff, claiming to have “all the necessary means”.
On the ground, the emergency services faced “very difficult” conditions on Saturday morning.
“They will find themselves in a plot of debris, with a very complicated configuration along the banks of the river,” warned Dalton Rice.
Internal Security Minister Kristi Noem “will soon be there,” said US President Donald Trump on her Truth Social network.
“Melania and I pray for all the families affected by this horrible tragedy,” he added.
About 500 rescuers and 14 helicopters were deployed, while the Texas National Guard and the Coast Guard sent reinforcements.
– cars and houses carried –
According to the authorities, the level of the Guadalupe river rose on Friday about 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.
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 has made meteorological events more frequent and more intense such as floods, droughts and heat waves.
“Water has reached the top of the trees,” said Gerardo Martinez, 61, a restaurateur whose establishment is located near a point of view on the river, referring to “cars and whole houses carried” by the waves.
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.
“More than 300 millimeters of rain fell in the night” from Friday to Saturday, the weather services announced, 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, 13 people had perished due to floods in San Antonio, not far from the area affected on Friday, following torrential rains.
Posted on July 5 at 6:27 p.m., AFP
