KERRVILLE, TXkilled at least 82 people during the Fourth of July holiday weekend in Texas, and some people, including girls at a summer camp, are still unaccounted for. A huge search and rescue operation has been prompted by the destruction along the Guadalupe River, outside of San Antonio, due to their lack of preparation and the haste with which they moved at first.
Here are some facts regarding the massive that caused it to occur in and around Kerr County, Texas, as well as the current victim identification efforts.
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In an area that is prone to flooding, heavy rain fell at the wrong moment.
At the middle of a lengthy holiday weekend, when most people were asleep, the floods reached their worst point.
Because of the dry, dirt-packed terrain in the Texas Hill Country in the state’s center, where the soil allows rain to slide over the ground rather than soak it up, the region is inherently vulnerable to flash flooding. A especially strong storm that dumped the majority of its 12 inches (30 cm) of rain in the dark early morning hours on Friday was the precursor to Friday’s flash floods.
Around 4 a.m. on Thursday, the National Weather Service office issued an urgent warning that raised the possibility of catastrophic damage and a serious threat to human life, after a flood watch alert issued at noon. Some locals claim that water levels were becoming dangerously high by at least 5:20 a.m. The Guadalupe River rose 26 feet (8 meters) in just forty-five minutes as a result of the enormous rain that was pouring down the hills.
The number of missing is unknown, and the death toll is predicted to increase.
Governor Greg Abbott announced on Sunday that 41 people were officially missing around the state and that more might be missing.
Sheriff Larry Leitha reported Sunday afternoon that searchers had discovered the dead of 68 individuals, including 28 children, in Kerr County, which is home to summer camps in the Texas Hill Country. As of Sunday night, 79 people had died, including fatalities in neighboring counties.
At Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp along the river, ten girls and a counselor remained missing.
The catastrophe for former campers.
The amount of missing people from other neighboring campgrounds and the surrounding area had not been made public, in addition to the Camp Mystic campers who were still unaccounted for.
Citing the anticipated surge of tourists for the July Fourth holiday, Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice stated on Saturday that “we don’t even want to begin to estimate at this time.”
Authorities are under fire for flash flood warnings.
In addition to describing the floods as a disaster, survivors claim they were not issued any emergency warnings.
Rob Kelly, a Kerr County Judge who resides near the Guadalupe River, stated on Saturday that… According to the historical record, the water levels were extremely implausible, according to a number of officials.
Furthermore, records supporting those figures don’t always take climate change brought on by humans into consideration. Meteorologists argue that a warmer atmosphere can contain more moisture and allow severe storms to drop significantly more rain, but it’s difficult to link individual storms to global warming so soon after they happen.
Officials have also come under fire for failing to notify or advise residents and kids summer camps along the river to evacuate before 4 a.m.
Officials pointed out that too frequent flooding advisories or forecasts that prove to be small can wear people out.
Similar to a tornado warning system, Kerr County officials said they had proposed a more comprehensive flood warning system, but the public was not impressed.
After being questioned again by reporters about the delays in alerts and evacuations, officials left a news briefing on Sunday.
A monumental effort to clean and reconstruct
Campsites have been destroyed by the flash floods, and houses have been torn off their foundations.
After flying over the devastation on Saturday, Kelly stated, “It’s going to be a long time before we’re ever able to clean it up, much less rebuild it.”
Residents and business owners in areas hit by Hurricane Helene last year have been forced to relocate due to more severe flooding disasters.
On Friday, President Donald Trump is expected to visit the flood area.
One of the biggest rescue and recovery operations in Texas has been covered by AP photographers.
