No Filipinos hurt in deadly Texas floods — DFA
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) reported Wednesday that no Filipinos have been reported killed or affected by the massive floods that ravaged Texas in the United States and left over 100 people dead.
In a Super Radyo dzBB interview, Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega said the Filipino community in Texas remains safe, citing updates from the Philippine Consulate in Houston.
"So far walang casualty [na Pilipino]. Walang apektadong Pilipino (So far, there are no Filipino casualties. No Filipinos have been affected)," he said.
The death toll from the July Fourth flood that devastated Texas Hill County has swelled to at least 109, many of them children, as search teams pressed on through mounds of mud-encrusted debris for scores of people still missing.
The bodies of 94 flood victims, more than a third of them children, have been recovered in Kerr County alone as of Tuesday (Texas time), Texas Governor Greg Abbott said at a late-afternoon news conference after touring the area by air. He said 161 other people were known to be missing in the flood zone.
De Vega said the DFA continues to monitor the situation closely.
"Ang daming namatay na mga Texan pero sagot sa tanong ninyo, may bilang zero so far," he said.
(Many Texans have died, but to answer your question—the number of Filipino casualties so far is still zero.)
He said most Filipinos reside in areas far from the epicenter of the flooding, including Kerrville—a small town nearly 900 miles from Houston, one of the areas hardest hit by the storm.
De Vega added that Consul General Gunther Emil Salas, who heads the consulate in Houston, has confirmed that there are approximately 240,000 Filipinos living in Texas.
The consulate has already issued advisories to the Filipino community to stay alert and take necessary precautions, De Vega said.
He added that the DFA will continue to coordinate with local authorities and the consulate to ensure the safety of overseas Filipinos amid the developing situation. — VDV, GMA Integrated News
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