The death toll has risen to six after “catastrophic” flooding hit central Texas. According to News 4 San Antonio, Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly confirmed the death count, which is expected to rise. This is mainly due to flooding in the Guadalupe River, which rose 22 feet within half an hour.
Videos by Suggest
6 People Confirmed Dead After Severe Texas Flooding
Up to 10 inches of heavy rain hit central Kerr County overnight on Thursday. Authorities issued a flood warning to at least 30,000 people that night. Search teams on Friday have been attempting to find survivors or bodies from the flash flood.
There are currently an unknown number of people unaccounted for. Families have been especially worried about the children at the summer camp areas. Kelly revealed that the authorities have been working to identify the bodies, but it has been difficult.
“Most of them, we don’t know who they are,” he said in a news conference. “One of them was completely 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.”
According to the BBC, Texas Governor Greg Abbott said the state would provide “all necessary resources to Kerrville, Ingram, Hunt and the entire Texas Hill Country dealing with these devastating floods.” Abbott also said in a social media post that the “immediate priority is saving lives.”
The Rush To Escape A Flooded Home
One of the witnesses to these devastating floods described to News 4 San Antonio how her family had to flee their home due to the water damage. Erin Burgess woke up at 3:30 AM due to the thunder on Friday morning and recalled it raining “pretty heavy.”
At that point, it seemed like no issue. But 20 minutes later, Burgess noticed water seeping in through her walls. The water was rushing through their doors, forcing her to cling to a tree and wait for the water to recede.
“My son and I floated to a tree where we hung onto it, and my boyfriend and my dog floated away,” said Burgess. “He was lost for a while, but we found them.”
The mother was thankful that her 19-year-old son was tall. “Thankfully he’s over 6 feet tall,” she said. “That’s the only thing that saved me, was hanging on to him.”