Texas flash flooding kills at least 13 people
The U.S. National Weather Service declared a flash flood emergency for parts of Kerr County, located in south-central Texas Hill Country, about 65 miles (105 km) northwest of San Antonio, following thunderstorms with heavy downpours that dumped as much as a foot of rain.
Dalton Rice, city manager for Kerville, the county seat, told reporters the extreme flooding struck before dawn with little or no warning, precluding authorities from issuing any evacuation orders.
'This happened very quickly, over a very short period of time that could not be predicted, even with radar,' Rice said. 'This happened within less than a two-hour span.'
Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha told reporters that 13 people were found dead from flooding in the area, adding, 'I think there will be more when this thing is over.'
Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick said at an earlier news briefing that six to 10 bodies of adults and children had been found, some in cars washed downstream.
He also said authorities were searching for 23 girls listed as unaccounted for among more than 700 children at several summer camp sites near the banks of the Guadalupe River when the site was inundated by floodwaters at around 4 a.m. local time.
'We're praying for all those missing to be found alive,' Patrick said.
It was not clear whether anyone unaccounted for at Camp Mystic, a private Christian summer camp for girls, might have ended up among the deceased victims tallied countywide by the sheriff.
Otherwise, all other campers were safe, authorities said, but the campers could not immediately be evacuated because roads were made impassable by high waters. Camp Mystic's director said in a message read to reporters that the facility's power, water and internet service also had been cut off.
'Everybody is doing everything in their power to get these kids out,' Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly, the top local elected official, said at a news briefing on the disaster hours earlier.
Kelly said a number of scattered residential subdivisions, recreational vehicle parks and campgrounds were hit hard.
Patrick said the Guadalupe River had risen 26 feet (8 m) in 45 minutes amid heavy showers soaking region. Search teams were flying 14 helicopters and a dozen drones over the area, in addition to hundreds of emergency personnel on the ground conducting rescues from trees and swift-flowing water.
The Llano River flowing through adjacent Mason County was also reported running at flood stage, posing 'a life-threatening situation,' the weather service reported.
With additional rain forecast in the region, Patrick warned that an ongoing threat for possible flash flooding extended from San Antonio to Waco for the next 24 to 48 hours.
Personnel from the U.S. Coast Guard and the Federal Emergency Management Agency were activated to assist local authorities in confronting the crisis, officials said. - Reuters
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Nim Kidd, director of the Texas Division of Emergency Management, told a news conference on Friday night. July Fourth fireworks displays ended up being canceled in flood-stricken communities throughout the region, including Kerrville, where the waterfront site for Friday night's planned U.S. Independence Day celebration was submerged by the rain-swollen river. At Friday night's briefing, Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said 24 flood-related fatalities had been confirmed, up from 13 tallied earlier in the day. One more person found dead in neighboring Kendall County was not confirmed to be a flood-related casualty, Leitha said. PRAYERS FOR THE MISSING Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick said on Friday afternoon that authorities were searching for 23 girls listed as missing from among more than 750 children at summer camp sites along the banks of the Guadalupe River when the area was inundated by floodwaters at around 4 a.m. local time. The missing campers had all been attending Camp Mystic, a private Christian summer camp for girls. "We're praying for all those missing to be found alive," Patrick said. It was not clear whether anyone unaccounted for might have ended up among the deceased victims tallied countywide by the sheriff. Otherwise, all other campers were safe, authorities said, with campers being evacuated throughout the day. "Everybody is doing everything in their power to get these kids out," Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly, the top local elected official, had said at a news briefing on the disaster hours earlier. Kelly said a number of scattered residential subdivisions, recreational vehicle parks and campgrounds were hit hard. Pressed by reporters why more precautions were not taken with stormy weather in the forecast, Kelly insisted a disaster of such magnitude was unforeseen. "We have floods all the time. This is the most dangerous river valley in the United States," Kelly said. 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Barry Adelman, 54, said water pushed everyone in his three-story house into the attic, including his 94-year-old grandmother and nine-year-old grandson. The water started coming through the attic floor before finally receding. "I was horrified," he said. "I was having to look at my grandson in the face and tell him everything was going to be OK, but inside I was scared to death." The forecast had called for rain, with a flood watch upgraded to a warning overnight for at least 30,000 people. But totals in some places exceeded expectations, Fogarty said. Patrick noted that the potential for heavy rain and flooding covered a large area. "Everything was done to give them a heads up that you could have heavy rain, and we're not exactly sure where it's going to land," Patrick said. "Obviously as it got dark last night, we got into the wee morning of the hours, that's when the storm started to zero in." Asked about how people were notified in Kerr County so that they could get to safety, Judge Rob Kelly, the county's chief elected official, said: "We do not have a warning system." When reporters pushed on why more precautions weren't taken, Kelly said: "Rest assured, no one knew this kind of flood was coming." The area is known as "flash flood alley" because of the hills' thin layer of soil, said Austin Dickson, CEO of the Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country, which was collecting donations to help nonprofits responding to the disaster. "When it rains, water doesn't soak into the soil," Dickson said. "It rushes down the hill." River tourism industry is a key part of the Hill Country economy. Well-known, century-old summer camps bring in kids from all over the country, Dickson said. "It's generally a very tranquil river with really beautiful clear blue water that people have been attracted to for generations," Dickson said. – AP
