Historic Rainfall Causes Catastrophic, Deadly Flash Floods In Central Texas
As of Saturday morning, at least 27 people have been killed by the floods. Among the dead are 18 adults and 9 children. In a press conference on Saturday, officials said that at least 850 people have been rescued from the area. In addition, 27 people remain missing from girls' summer camp at Camp Mystic, which sits alongside the river in Kerr County.
Mobile homes, campers and other vehicles were swept away as the river surged. The river shot up more than 26 feet in just 45 minutes. Digital meteorologist Sara Tonks adds, "The soil and the river were unable to keep up with the rain as over 7 inches of rain fell in only 4 and a half hours from 1 to 5:30 am."
The Guadalupe River hit its second-highest height ever on record, reaching 29.45 feet, but Bob Fogarty, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service's Austin/San Antonio office believes it could be even higher. He told the Associated Press the gauge failed after recording a level of 29 and half feet, 'The gauge is completely underwater.'
Flooding also inundated neighborhoods further north in San Angelo. Some areas got more than a foot of rain, trapping people inside their homes. The National Weather Service in San Angelo said it received multiple reports of flooded roads and homes across Tom Green County, calling the conditions life-threatening.
The NWS urged people to stay indoors and issued River Flood Warnings for parts of San Saba, Concho and Colorado rivers.
An additional flash flood emergency was issued for parts of Burnet, Williamson and Travis counties northwest of Austin, Texas, Saturday morning. Up to 14 inches of new rain had fallen.
Texas Hill Country and the greater Interstate-35 corridor in Texas are known as "Flash Flood Alley" because of the intersection of heavy rainfall that occurs there frequently, higher population, urban and rolling terrain, and the higher number of influential rivers, including the Guadalupe and Colorado rivers.
Up to 10 additional inches of rainfall is possible through the holiday weekend.
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