At least 27 people killed in Texas floods as search continues

The crews searched in the dark early Saturday two dozen children from a girl camp and many others who were still disappeared after a wall of water rushed into a river in Texas Hill Country during a powerful storm that killed at least 27 people. The number of deaths was certain to increase.

The water of rapidly moving destructive along the Guadalupe river increased by 26 feet in just 45 minutes before dawn on Friday, washing houses and vehicles. The danger was not finished because more heavy rains were expected on Saturday and the warnings and watches of the flash floods remained in force for certain parts of the Center of Texas.

The authorities are the subject of a more in -depth examination as to whether the camp and other members of the region have received an appropriate warning and if enough preparations have been made.

The researchers used helicopters, boats and drones to search for victims and save people blocked. The total number of disappeared was not known, but a sheriff said that around 24 of them were girls who attended the Mystic camp, a Christian summer camp along the river.

Parents and frantic families have published photos of missing relatives and pleadings to obtain information.

“The camp has been completely destroyed,” said Elinor Lester, 13, one of the hundreds of campers from the Mystic camp. “A helicopter landed and started to remove people. It was really scary.”

A unleashed storm woke up his cabin just after midnight Friday, and when the rescuers arrived, they attached a rope so that the girls stand while they were crossing a bridge with flood waters whisking around their legs, she said.

On Friday evening, during a press conference, the sheriff of the county of Kerr, Larry Leitha, said that 24 people had been confirmed dead, including some children. Authorities said that around 240 people had been saved.

The floods in the middle of the night The July 4 holidays attracted many residents, campers and officials by surprise. The Texas Hill Country, which is located north-west of San Antonio, is a popular destination for camping and swimming, especially around the holidays in summer.

Accuweather said that the private forecasting company and the National Weather Service had sent warnings to the sudden potential floods before devastation.

“These warnings should have provided managers for a time to evacuate camps such as Camp Mystic and bring people in security,” said Accreweather in a statement that called Texas Hill one of the most prone to the future Flash in the United States because of its land and many water passages.

The officials defended their actions on Friday while saying that they did not expect such an intense downpour that is equivalent to rainy months for the region.

A forecast of national weather services earlier in the week had called up to six inches of rain, said Nim Kidd, chief of the Texas Emergency Management Division. “This did not predict the amount of rain that we have seen,” he said.

Helicopters, drones used in frantic research to miss

A river gauge near Camp Mystic recorded a 22 feet increase in about two hours, said Bob Fogarty, meteorologist at the National Service Austin / San Antonio office. The gauge failed after saving a level of 29 and a half feet.

“The water moves so quickly, you will not recognize how bad it is until it is above you,” said Fogarty.

More than 1,000 rescuers were on the ground. Rescue teams, helicopters and drones were used, some people being torn from trees. The helicopters of the American Coast Guard flew to help.

“ Black wall of death ‘

In Ingram, Erin Burgess woke up with Thunder and Rain in the middle of the night on Friday. Barely 20 minutes later, the water poured into his house from the river, she said. She described an agonizing hour clinging to a tree with her teenage son and waiting for the water to move enough to mount the hill.

“Fortunately, he measures more than 6 feet high. It’s the only thing that saved me, clung to him,” she said.

“My son and I floated to a tree where we are hanging there, and my boyfriend and my dog ​​floated. He was lost for a while, but we found them,” she said.

Matthew Stone, 44, from Kerrville, said the police had come to knock on the doors but that he had received no warnings on his phone.

“We did not have an emergency alert. There was nothing,” said Stone. Then “a black death wall”.

‘I was afraid of death’

In a reunification center in Ingram, families cried and applauded while relatives left the rescue vehicles. Two soldiers transported an older woman who could not go down a scale. Behind her, a woman hugged a small white dog.

Later, a girl in a white t-shirt “Camp Mystic” and white socks stood in a puddle, sobbing in her mother’s arms.

Barry Adelman said that the water had pushed everyone into his three-story house in the attic, including his 94-year-old grandmother and his 94-year-old grandson. The water began to pass through the attic before retreating.

“I was horrified,” he said. “I had to look at my grandson in the face and tell him that everything was going to go well, but inside, I was afraid to death.”

“ No one knew that this kind of flood arrived ” ‘

Forecasts for the weekend had called for rain, with flood surveillance spent a night warning on Friday for at least 30,000 people.

Lieutenant-Governor of Texas, Dan Patrick, said that the potential of heavy rain and floods covered a large area.

“It was done to give them a warning that you might have heavy rains, and we don’t know exactly where he will land,” said Patrick. “Obviously, as it became black last night, we entered the early morning for hours, it was then that the storm started at scratch.”

Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly, chief chief of the county, said: “We have no warning system.”

When he pushed why more precautions were not taken, Kelly said that no one knew that this kind of flood was going to arrive.

More heavy rain pockets expected

The slow storm stuck on the center of Texas should bring more rain on Saturday, with the potential of pockets of strong showers and more floods, said Jason Runyen, of the National Weather Service.

The threat could persist overnight and Sunday morning, he said.

Popular tourist area subject to floods

The area is known as the “Flash Flood Allée” due to the thin Hills floor layer, said Austin Dickson, CEO of the Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country, which collected donations to help non -profit organizations to respond to disaster.

“When it rains, the water does not enter the ground,” said Dickson. “He rushes at the bottom of the hill.”

The river tourism industry is a key element in the economy of hills countries. Well -known and centenary summer camps bring children from all over the country, said Dickson.

“It is generally a very quiet river with very beautiful clear blue water that has been attracted for generations,” said Dickson.

Seewer and Virtuno write for the Associated Press.