Severe flash flooding leads to death, destruction in Texas Hill Country
By Hannah Fingerhut Associated Press Texas Hill Country was beset by death and catastrophe Friday after multiple fatalities were informed from months worth of heavy rain that fell in a matter of hours leaving search teams to conduct boat rescues as fast-moving water threatened riverfront communities and children s summer camps As much as inches of heavy rain poured down in just a inadequate hours overnight in central Kerr County causing flash flooding of the Guadalupe River Teams conducted dozens of rescues and the crisis response continued as an unknown number of people remained unaccounted for People with children and relatives at area summer camps pleaded for information about their loved ones endangered by the flooding Judge Rob Kelly the chief elected official in the county proven fatalities from the flooding and dozens of water rescues so far He mentioned he was advised not to cite specific numbers and explained government are still working to identify those whose lives were lost Majority of of them we don t know who they are Kelly revealed during a news conference One of them was entirely naked he didn t have any ID on him at all We re trying to get the identity of these folks but we don t have it yet Related Articles Rising summer heat increases jeopardy of child deaths in hot cars Hurricane Flossie could become a major hurricane off the Pacific coast of Mexico Eastern half of US sweltering again with dangerous heat wave expected to last until midweek Britain and Northern Europe bake in the first heat wave of How to stay cool in the heat wave hitting parts of the US even without air conditioning A flood watch issued Thursday afternoon estimated isolated amounts up to inches of rising water That shifted to a flood warning for at least people overnight When sought about the suddenness of the flash flooding Kelly explained we do not have a warning system and that we didn t know this flood was coming even as local reporters pointed to the warnings and pushed him for answers about why more precautions weren t taken Rest assured no one knew this kind of flood was coming he stated We have floods all the time This is the the majority dangerous river valley in the United States Texas Gov Greg Abbott declared the state was providing support to Hill Country communities dealing with the flooding including in Kerrville Ingram and Hunt I urge Texans to heed guidance from state and local leaders and monitor local forecasts to avoid driving into flooded areas Abbott revealed in a declaration The Texas Hill Country a scenic and rocky gateway to booming vineyards and vacation rentals begins west of the state capital and is a popular outdoor summer getaway Parts of the region are prone to flash flooding Dozens of people posted on Facebook asking for any information on their children nieces and nephews attending one of the countless camps in the area or family members that went camping during the holiday weekend Ingram Fire Department posted a photo of a comment from Camp Mystic saying the private Christian summer camp for girls experienced catastrophic level floods Parents with a daughter not accounted for were directly contacted the camp stated Another camp on the river located east of Hunt Camp Waldemar commented in an Instagram post that we are all safe and sound The Guadalupe s river gauge at the unincorporated public of Hunt where the river forks recorded a -oot rise in just about two hours according to Bob Fogarty meteorologist with the National Weather Provision s Austin San Antonio office Fogarty explained the gauge failed after recording a level of and a half feet This is the kind of thing that will catch you unaware Fogarty reported The water s moving so fast you re not going to recognize how bad it is until it s on top of you New Jersey also sees deaths due to severe weather Meanwhile strong thunderstorms were being blamed for at least three deaths in central New Jersey including two men in Plainfield who died after a tree fell onto a wagon they were traveling in during the height of a storm there according to a city Facebook post The men were ages and agents disclosed They were not forthwith publicly identified Our hearts are heavy in current times Mayor Adrian O Mapp noted in a comment This tragedy is a sobering reminder of the power of nature and the fragility of life The city canceled its planned July parade concert and fireworks show Mapp mentioned the devastating storms had left deep scars and widespread damage in the population of more than people and it was a time to regroup and focus all of our resource on recovery Continuing power outages and downed trees were informed Friday throughout southern New England where selected communities received large amounts of hail There were reports of cars skidding off the road in northeastern Connecticut
