Some 27 people, including nine children, have been confirmed dead after sudden floods in the center of the state of Texas in the United States, authorities said on Saturday, while rescuers continued a frantic search for survivors, including dozens that are still missing in a summer camp for girls.
The Sheriff’s office in Kerr County, Texas, said that more than 800 people had been evacuated from the region when the waters of the flood backed into the area around the Guadalupe River, about 137 kilometers northwest of San Antonio.
“We will not stop until each person is,” said Kerr County Sheriff, Larry Leitha, at a press conference.
At least 23 to 25 people from the summer camp were missing, most of them were reported that they were girls. The river waters climbed 29 feet near the camp.
The United States weather service said that the emergency of sudden flood has ended largely for Kerr County, the epicenter of floods, after thunderstorms that threw until a rainfall on the early Friday. However, an flood clock remained in force until 7 pm for the widest region.
Kerr County is located in Texas Hill Country, a rural area known for its rugged land, historical cities and other tourist attractions.
Lieutenant Governor of Texas, Dan Patrick, said up to 500 rescue workers were looking for an unknown number of people who were still missing, including many who had come to the area for a celebration of Independence Day next to the River.
“We do not know how many people were in tents, in small trailers aside, in houses rented to one side, because they were going to be the holidays of July 4,” he said about Fox News Live.
The president of the United States, Donald Trump, said the federal government was working with state and local officials to respond to floods. “Melania and I are praying for all the families affected by this horrible tragedy. Our brave lifeguards are in the place doing what they do best,” he said on social networks.
Dalton Rice, administrator of the city of Kerville, the County Seat, told reporters on Friday that extreme floods attacked before dawn with little or no warning, which prevents the authorities from issuing early evacuation orders such as the Guadalupe River quickly rose above the main flood stage in less than two hours.
State emergency management officials had warned as soon as Thursday that West and Central Texas faced heavy rains and sudden flood threats, citing forecasts from the National Meteorological Service before the holiday weekend.
However, the forecasts “did not predict the amount of rain we saw,” said Texas Emergency Management Division on Friday night, on Friday night.
The weekend disaster echoes a catastrophic flood of the Guadalupe River of 1987 in which 10 adolescents drowned when trying to leave a church camp, according to the National Meteorological Service.
