Light Dark

Now Reading: Region swamped with rain, flash flooding risks

01
Region swamped with rain, flash flooding risks

Home
World
USA
Region swamped with rain, flash flooding risks

Region swamped with rain, flash flooding risks

USA, Featured9 hours ago2 Views

Another round of storms in central Texas impaired rescue efforts and threatened to bring more hurt to a region slammed by flooding that has killed at least 132 people.

The National Weather Service forecast thunderstorms producing “excessive rainfall and potential flooding” Monday and Tuesday. A flood watch was extended through Tuesday morning for more than a dozen counties. Among them: Kerr County, where at least 106 people were killed when the Guadalupe River roared over its banks on the Fourth of July.

The number of people missing is down from about 160 to 101, with 97 of those in Kerr County, Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott told reporters. A large percentage of those unaccounted for are likely visitors to the area, Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly said at a commissioners meeting.

“It’s the tourists that came in for the Fourth weekend, the concert, the fireworks” Kelly said. “We don’t know how many came, we don’t know where they are, we don’t know how many we lost. We’ve heard accounts of trailer after trailer after trailer being swept into the river with families in the them. Can’t find trailers.”

Rainfall amounts of 1-3 inches and isolated amounts of up to 6 inches on already saturated terrain are possible into Tuesday, the weather service said.

“Excessive runoff may result in flooding of rivers, creeks, streams, and other low-lying and flood-prone locations,” officials warned. “Creeks and streams may rise out of their banks.”

Developments:

∎ An additional five counties − Burnet, Llano, Mason, McCulloch and Tom Green − have been added to President Donald Trump’s major disaster declaration because of the flooding in central Texas, making it now 10 counties that are eligible for federal assistance, Abbott said.

∎ The Kerrville Park and Recreation Department said it would go forth with its “Movies in the Park” series Friday “in the spirit of unity and resilience.”

∎ A search and rescue team sent by Alabama arrived in Texas on Monday and hit the ground running, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey said.

Storms that swept through the region Sunday prompted dozens of high-water rescues in the Lampasas area, about 100 miles northeast of Kerrville. Flash flooding also delayed search, rescue and recovery efforts in Kerr County “half to three-quarters of a day,” although they were once again underway Monday, County Sheriff Larry Leitha said.

Leitha said more than 2,000 people from multiple agencies were assisting the effort, and that he had been assured by Abbott and Trump that all needed resources would be provided.

“How long is it gonna take? Who knows? I think we will go strong for another month or two, up to maybe six months winding down as we move on,” Leitha said. “We continue to have the resources and assets we need, and we will keep looking.”

Camp Mystic Executive Director Richard “Dick” Eastland did not begin to evacuate the young campers sleeping near the Guadalupe River for more than an hour after he received a severe flood warning from the National Weather Service on July 4, his family told the Washington Post through a spokesman.

Eastland rallied family members on walkie-talkies to “assess the situation” soon after the alert went out, said Jeff Carr, the family’s spokesman. The flood soon devastated the 725-acre campus in Kerr County, killing 27 counselors and campers. Eastland died trying to rescue some of the youngest girls, the Post said.

The heavy rain forecast for already saturated areas of central Texas prompted officials in Kerrville to call off help from volunteers Monday.

“Due to the incoming threatening weather, all volunteers should vacate the river area, and MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND for their safety,” the city, which serves as the Kerr County seat, said in a social media post. “Only teams working under the direction of Kerr County Emergency Operations Center Unified Command are permitted in the response zone.”

Legions of volunteers, including fellow Texans and folks from other states and even Mexico, have come to the aid of those impacted by the flooding calamity in central Texas.

The Kerr County Commissioners’ Court was holding its first bimonthly meeting on Monday since floods ravaged the county 10 days ago. Local officials have come under scrutiny for not installing flood warning sirens along the Guadalupe River. Kelly said last week that county officials considered sirens several years ago but dismissed the idea because “the public reeled at the cost.”

At the meeting, Kelly asked residents to be patient.

“We have been up to our eyeballs in search and rescue, and search and rescue remains our top priority,” he said. “It also includes recovery. Just be patient with it as we go forward.”

Natural disasters often leave victims at their most vulnerable, presenting scammers with opportunities to take advantage of them.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is warning residents of the areas affected by the flooding to look out for fraudsters pretending to represent FEMA to gain access to their money or personal information.

“In some cases, thieves try to apply for FEMA assistance using names, addresses and Social Security numbers they have stolen from survivors,” the agency said in a news release, advising residents not to share banking information with anyone claiming to be a FEMA housing inspector.

The release also says any purported representative who attempts to charge for disaster assistance, an inspection or help filling out an application, or who promises a disaster grant in exchange for payment, is an impostor.

The city of San Saba, about 100 miles north of Kerrville in San Saba County, urged residents close to the river to be prepared because of rising waters. County Judge Jody Fauley issued a mandatory evacuation for parts of the city, noting that the “river is rising faster than it did on July 4.” Some roads won’t reopen until at least Tuesday, he said.

“Obviously none of us expected to have two, 70-year floods within a week of each other,” Fauley said in a video posted on social media. “Y’all be careful.”

The weather service office in San Antonio said early Monday that a “dangerous situation” was occurring in parts of Uvalde, Real, Bandera and Kerr Counties and 2-5 inches of rain had fallen in less than 4 hours.

“More heavy rain is on the way. Flooding is already happening,” the weather service said on social media.

A flood warning was in effect on the Guadalupe River at Hunt, a few miles west of Kerrville. The river is expected to reach moderate flood stage at about 11 a.m. local time at 14.6 feet, up from 8.45 feet a few hours earlier.

“Seek higher ground along the river bank,” Kerrville police warned on social media.

In the early days of July, pieces of weather systems were converging to bring devastation to the Texas Hill Country, transforming the Guadalupe River into a monster raging out of its banks in the pre-dawn hours of July 4. At least 129 people have died, and at least 160 are listed as missing.

The hours leading up to the disaster, and the actions taken to protect the lives of those in the water’s hellish fury, are critical to understanding what happened and whether more could have been done in the name of safety.

Through a National Weather Service messaging service with emergency management officials and broadcast meteorologists, U.S. Geological Survey data and other records, USA TODAY has pieced together a timeline of the calamity on the Guadalupe. See the details here.

− Dinah Voyles Pulver

Upvote0PointsDownvote

0 Votes: 0 Upvotes, 0 Downvotes (0 Points)