Devastating floods, caused by torrential rains, left at least 13 dead, and about twenty children who disappeared in Texas. The missing children participated in a summer camp with more than 700 other children.
According to the authorities, the level of the Guadalupe river, which crosses this area, located in the center of Texas, has risen about eight meters in 45 minutes. It fell nearly 300 millimeters per hour of rain over this period, one third of the average annual precipitation of the county.
“For the moment, we have counted 13 deaths,” said the Sheriff of Kerr, located in central Texas at the press conference. There will probably be “more” victims “when it is all over,” added this official.
About twenty missing children
The deputy governor of Texas, Dan Patrick, said, being “without news of around twenty” children out of the 750 who participated in a summer camp for girls, during a press conference.
“This does not mean that they are among the victims, they could be in a tree or without communication,” he added.
We had no reason to believe that it was going to be something like what happened
According to the authorities, the level of the Guadalupe river, which crosses the area, has risen “nearly 300 millimeters in 45 minutes” during the night, a third of the average annual precipitation of the county of Kerr.
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”.
About 500 rescuers and 14 helicopters were deployed, while the Texas National Guard and the United States Coast Guard sent reinforcements.
Other precipitation expected
“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.
In mid-June, at least ten people had perished due to floods in San Antonio, also in Texas, following torrential rains.
LBL with agencies
