Severe flooding in Texas Hill Country has led to 13 confirmed fatalities and left over 20 girls from a summer camp unaccounted for. The deluge, equating to months of rainfall, inundated the area within hours, prompting emergency rescues via boats and helicopters.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick indicated that a preliminary count reveals between six and ten bodies discovered, conflicting with Sheriff Larry Leitha’s report of 13 confirmed deaths. Kerr County has experienced over 25cm of rain, which caused the Guadalupe River to overflow and intensified the search for the missing.
Desperate families have taken to social media, seeking news about their loved ones caught in the flood. Patrick described the missing as a mix of adults and children, while Sheriff Leitha has confirmed numerous rescues and ongoing searches.
One distressing account came from Erin Burgess, whose home faces the river. She recounted waking in the early hours to find her home rapidly submerged, leading her and her son to cling to a tree for safety. Fortunately, they were eventually rescued.
Flood warnings had been issued for the region, but local officials admitted that the extent of the flooding caught them unprepared. Governor Greg Abbott assured that state resources were being allocated to assist the affected communities.
As the floodwaters recede, preparations are underway in downstream areas anticipating a similar fate, with alarms sounded in places like Comfort to alert residents to evacuate.
In conjunction with Texas’s struggles, New Jersey also faced severe storms, resulting in three fatalities, including two men in Plainfield, reinforcing the hazardous nature of these extreme weather events.