Sudden Flood in Texas: 13 Dead, Dozens of Children Missing
Kyiv • UNN
In central-south Texas, a sudden flood along the Guadalupe River has led to the death of at least 13 people. Around 20 children from a local summer camp are considered missing after the camp was submerged by water.
On Friday, July 4, at least 13 people died and about 20 children went missing from a local summer camp due to sudden floods along the Guadalupe River in central-south Texas (USA). This was reported by Reuters, as conveyed by UNN.
Details
The US National Weather Service declared an emergency for parts of Kerr County after intense rainfall, which reached up to 30 cm.
City official Dalton Rice told reporters that the extreme flood occurred before dawn, with almost no warning, making evacuation efforts impossible.
"It happened very quickly, in a very short period of time, which could not be predicted even with radar. Everything happened in less than two hours."
The Kerr County Sheriff's Office reported that the bodies of 13 people, killed by the catastrophic flood, were found in the area.
Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick stated at a press conference that authorities are searching for 23 girls who are considered missing among more than 700 children who were at a summer camp when it was hit by the flood around 4 a.m. local time.
Most of the children, according to authorities, are safe, but they could not be immediately evacuated because the roads became impassable due to high water.
"Everyone is doing everything they can to save these children,"
According to him, individual residential areas, trailer parks, and campsites were most affected.
Patrick said the Guadalupe River rose 26 feet (8 meters) in 45 minutes during the heavy downpour. Search and rescue teams used 14 helicopters and about a dozen drones to survey the area, while hundreds of rescuers on the ground conducted rescue operations in trees and swift waters.
"Additional precipitation is forecast in these areas. Even if the rain is light, new floods may occur. The threat of flash floods remains from San Antonio to Waco for the next 24-48 hours, and risks also remain in western and central Texas,"
It is noted that employees of the US Coast Guard and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) were involved in eliminating the consequences of the disaster to help local authorities cope with the crisis.
Recall
China's National Meteorological Center renewed a yellow alert for high temperatures, forecasting over 37°C in more than 10 provinces. At the same time, another 10 provinces are preparing for floods due to record rainfall that caused river levels to rise.
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