KERRVILLE, Texas—A wall of water poured down a river in the Texas Hill Country during a strong storm that killed at least 24 people. Crews searched through the darkness early Saturday for two dozen individuals and many more who were still missing. The death toll would undoubtedly increase.
Homes and cars were washed away when the Guadalupe River climbed 26 feet (8 meters) in just forty-five minutes before daybreak on Friday. Flash flood warnings and watches were still in place for portions of central Texas, and additional intense rains were predicted for Saturday, so the threat was far from finished.
Suggested Videos
Concerns about whether adequate warning was given to the camp and others nearby, as well as whether adequate preparations were done, are putting authorities under growing scrutiny.
To find victims and rescue stranded individuals, searchers utilized drones, boats, and helicopters. It was unknown how many people were missing overall, but according to one sheriff, roughly 24 of them were females who had been enrolled in Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp by the river.
Families and parents in a panic shared pictures of their missing loved ones along with information requests.
According to 13-year-old Elinor Lester, one of the hundreds of campers at Camp Mystic, the camp was totally devastated. After landing, a chopper began removing passengers. It was quite frightening.
According to her, rescuers knotted a rope for the girls to grab as they crossed a bridge with floodwaters whirling around their legs after a fierce storm woke up her cabin just after midnight on Friday.
Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha announced 24 confirmed deaths, including young children, during a press conference late Friday. Approximately 240 individuals were rescued, according to authorities.
Many locals, campers, and officials were taken aback by the flooding that occurred in the middle of the night on the Fourth of July vacation. Located northwest of San Antonio, the Texas Hill Country is a well-liked spot for swimming and camping, particularly during the summer vacation.
Hours before the destruction, the National Weather Service and a private forecasting firm sent warnings about possible flash floods, according to AccuWeather.
According to a statement from AccuWeather, which referred to the Texas Hill County as one of the most flash-flood-prone regions in the United States due to its topography and numerous water crossings, these warnings ought to have given authorities enough time to evacuate camps like Camp Mystic and transport people to safety.
On Friday, officials justified their actions by claiming they had not anticipated such a heavy precipitation, which was equivalent to months’ worth of rain for the region.
According to Nim Kidd, head of the Texas Division of Emergency Management, a National Weather Service forecast earlier this week had predicted up to six inches (152 millimeters) of rain. He claimed that it was unable to forecast the volume of rain that we experienced.
Drones and helicopters are utilized in the desperate hunt for missing
According to Bob Fogarty, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Austin/San Antonio office, a river gauge close to Camp Mystic recorded a rise of 22 feet (6.7 meters) in roughly two hours. After recording a level of 29 and a half feet (9 meters), the gauge malfunctioned.
“You won’t realize how bad it is until it’s on top of you because the water is moving so quickly,” Fogarty added.
There were around 1,000 rescuers on the ground. Some people were being pulled from trees by rescue crews, drones, and helicopters. Helicopters from the U.S. Coast Guard were arriving to help.
The pitch-black wall of doom
Erin Burgess woke up in the middle of the night on Friday to the sound of thunder and rain in Ingram. She claimed that only twenty minutes later, water was streaming into her house from the river. She told of the excruciating hour she and her teenage son spent hanging to a tree while they waited for the water to subside sufficiently to climb the slope to safety.
Fortunately, he is taller than six feet. “Hanging on to him was the only thing that saved me,” she claimed.
While my boyfriend and my dog drifted away, my son and I floated to a tree and grabbed onto it. We found them, she replied, but he was lost for a while.
Kerrville resident Matthew Stone, 44, claimed that despite police knocking on doors, he had not gotten any notice on his phone.
There was no emergency alert. Nothing was present,” Stone stated. Next, “a wall of death that is completely dark.”
I was terrified.
As loved ones exited rescue vehicles, families at an Ingram reunification center celebrated and wept. An elderly woman who was unable to descend a ladder was lifted by two soldiers. A woman behind her was holding a little white dog.
Later, a girl was crying in her mother’s arms while standing in a puddle wearing a white Camp Mystic T-shirt and white socks.
Barry Adelman claimed that water forced his nine-year-old grandson and his 94-year-old grandmother into the attic of his three-story home. Before it subsided, water began to seep through the attic floor.
He remarked, “I was horrified.” I was terrified on the inside, but I had to face my grandson and reassure him that everything would be alright.
Nobody anticipated this type of deluge.
Rain was predicted over the weekend, and at least 30,000 people were under a flood watch that was raised to a warning overnight Friday.
According to Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, a wide area was at risk of flooding and severe rain.
Patrick stated, “Everything was done to warn them that there could be heavy rain, and we’re not exactly sure where it’s going to land.” “Obviously, the storm began to intensify as it grew darker yesterday night and we into the early morning hours.
The county’s top elected official, Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly, stated: We don’t have a warning system.
Kelly claimed that no one was aware that this type of flood was imminent when asked why greater safety measures hadn’t been implemented.
More areas of intense precipitation are anticipated.
According to Jason Runyen of the National Weather Service, the slow-moving storm that is now lingering over central Texas is predicted to bring more rain on Saturday, possibly resulting in areas of heavy downpours and further flooding.
He warned that the threat might last through the night and into Sunday morning.
A well-known tourist destination that frequently floods
According to Austin Dickson, CEO of the Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country, which was gathering money to support NGOs assisting with the tragedy, the region is referred to as “flash flood alley” due to the hills’ thin soil layer.
According to Dickson, water does not seep into the ground when it rains. Down the hill it rushes.
An important component of the Hill Country economy is the river tourist sector. According to Dickson, children from all over the nation attend renowned summer camps that have been around for a century.
According to Dickson, it’s a relatively peaceful river with stunningly brilliant blue water that has drawn tourists for many years.
___
From Toledo, Ohio, Seewer provided a report.
