Today, authorities in the United States have announced that a series of rains during the last few hours have caused severe flooding, affecting Kerr County, located in south-central Texas. According to information provided by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the flooding was caused by the rise of the Guadalupe River during the night.
According to estimates provided by the governmental institution of the neighboring country, the flow of the aforementioned river increased progressively during the night of Thursday and this Friday morning. The well-known Guadalupe river would have increased its usual size from 2 meters in height to a total of 9 meters.
Flooding in Texas
It should be noted that the U.S. authorities in charge of monitoring weather conditions indicated to the media that the sudden flooding of the Guadalupe River was due to a weather phenomenon that caused thunderstorms and torrential rains during the night of Thursday.
According to the first official reports, the overflowing of the well-known river and the subsequent flooding occurred in the morning hours, affecting mainly the communities that make up Kerr County, causing serious material damage and causing a large number of deaths and other people who are still missing.
In this particular case, the rescue forces indicated that during their work today, a total of 13 people were found dead as a result of having been swept away by the strong flow of the Guadalupe River, which in the early hours of this Friday would have left its usual course due to the rains.
In addition, the rescue forces announced that they will continue to be deployed in the affected areas, as they still have reports of missing persons, including a total of 20 girls, who were participating in a summer camp organized by a Christian community located in the affected area.
Victims and property damage
On this particular point, the authorities indicated that, despite the fact that the emergency rainfall warnings were correctly issued, the rapid rise in the Guadalupe River in only two hours contributed to cause great economic damage in Kerr County and, in addition to this, the difficult access to this locality made rescue efforts difficult.
The main access roads were completely obstructed by flooding and the vehicles and debris that the river managed to drag towards the main roads that connect this important county with other towns located in the south-central part of the state of Texas.
Regarding the number of people who died as a result of the floods, authorities initially reported that a total of 6 people had died as a result of the overflowing of the river; however, this number increased considerably as authorities officially began search and rescue efforts.
Statements by the governor of Texas
In light of the recent flooding contingency in Kerr County, Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, in a recent statement, indicated that this afternoon he was in charge of coordinating the search and rescue of a group of girls, whose whereabouts are still unknown.
In addition to this, Patrick indicated that at the scene of the events there was a summer camp composed of about 700 children who were also affected by the floods. It should be noted that the governor of Texas indicated that the children were currently in safe areas; however, their evacuation would take some time, since the main access roads were completely blocked.