The death toll due to catastrophic floods in Texas increased to more than 100 on Monday, since rescuers continued their gloomy search for people sweeping by water torrents.
Among the dead were at least 27 girls and counselors who stayed in a summer camp for young people in a river when the disaster extended during the holiday on July 4.
The forecasts have warned more floods as the rain falls on saturated terrain, which complicates the recovery efforts that involve helicopters, boats, dogs and about 1,750 personnel.
“There is still a threat of heavy rains with the potential to cause floods,” said Texas Greg Greg Abbott in a statement on Monday, and the number of victims is expected to increase.
President Donald Trump confirmed that he planned to visit Texas on Friday, since the White House criticized critics claiming that his cuts to weather agencies had weakened the warning systems.
“To blame President Trump for these floods is a depraved lie, and has no purpose during this national mourning time,” said press secretary Karoline Leavitt to journalists on Monday.
She said the National Meteorological Service, which The New York Times Informing had several key roles in unchanged Texas before flooding, issued “appropriate and precise prognosis and warnings.”
Trump described the floods that arrived in the early hours of Friday as a “100 -year -old catastrophe” nobody expected. ” The president, who previously said that disaster relief should be handled at the state level, has signed a great disaster statement, activating new federal funds and releasing resources.
‘Tragedy’
At least 104 deaths related to floods were reported throughout the center of Texas. Kerr County, through which the Guadalupe River runs, was the most affected, with at least 84 people killed, including 28 children, according to the local office of the Sheriff.
The toll includes 27 that had stayed in Camp Mystic, a Christian camp of girls that housed some 750 people when the floods attacked. The camps are a dear tradition in the long summer vacations in the United States, with children who often remain in forests, parks and other rural areas.
Texas Senator, Ted Cruz, described them as an opportunity to make “friends of a lifetime, and suddenly becomes a tragedy.”
But some residents questioned the absence of more robust flood warning systems in this southern region and the center of Texas, where such injury are so frequent that it is known colloquially as “Alley Flash Flaod”.
Experts emphasize that the NWS sent timely forecasts, and climate scientist Daniel Swain set the problem in a failure of “warning diffusion.” San Antonio’s mother, Nicole Wilson, who almost sent her daughters to Camp Mystic, launched a petition on Change.org urging Governor Greg Abbott to approve a modern warning network.
“Five minutes of that siren that came out could have saved each of those children,” he told AFP.
In a vigil in the light of the candles in San Antonio on Monday night, the Texans gathered to pray for the victims of the persistent floods and fears.
“I was quite surprised by the seriousness of the situation and how big it was, and I would not necessarily expect our rivers to get up so fast,” said Rebeca Gutiérrez, 29.
“Hopefully preventive efforts occur in similar areas to ensure that nothing happens in this degree.”
Two -story building
In a terrifying exhibition of the power of nature, the waters sunk by the rain of the Guadalupe River reached the trees and roofs of the cabins while the girls in the camp slept.
The blankets, teddy bears and other belongings were covered in mud. The windows in the cabins were shattered, apparently by the force of water.
The volunteers were helping to look for debris from the river, with some motivated by personal connections with the victims.
“We are helping the parents of two of the missing children,” said Louis Deppe, 62. AFP. “The last message they received was ‘that we are being dragged’ and the phone came out.”
The value of the rainy months fell in a matter of hours on Thursday night until Friday, and the rain has continued in fighting since then.
The Guadalupe increased around 26 feet (eight meters), more than a two -story building, in just 45 minutes.
Sudden floods occur when the ground cannot absorb torrential rain. Human -driven climate change has made extreme climatic events, such as floods, droughts and more frequent and most intense heat waves in recent years.
