Search teams in Texas face more rain; 78 confirmed killed in flash floods

KERRVILLE, Texas – Search teams looking for dozens of people still missing after flash floods in central Texas faced the danger of more heavy rain and thunderstorms on July 7, after the

disaster killed at least 78 people,

including 28 children.

Search teams waded through mud-laden riverbanks and flew over the flood-stricken landscape on the fourth day of the search for survivors after July 4’s flash floods.

Most of the deaths were in the riverfront Texas Hill Country town of Kerrville where 68 were killed, including the 28 children, Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said.

The Guadalupe River that runs through Kerrville was transformed by pre-dawn torrential downpours into a raging torrent in less than hour on July 4.

As at late afternoon on July 6, state officials said 10 other flood-related fatalities were confirmed in four neighbouring south-central Texas counties, and that 41 other people were still listed as unaccounted for in the disaster beyond Kerr County.

Mr Freeman Martin, director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, predicted that the death toll would rise further as flood waters receded, and the search gained momentum.

The authorities also warned that continued rainfall – even if lighter than July 4’s deluge – could unleash additional flash floods because the landscape was so saturated.

The National Weather Service said in an advisory that heavy downpours of up to 7.6cm and thunderstorms could cause more flooding in the area throughout July 7.

State emergency management officials had warned on July 3, ahead of the July 4 holiday, that parts of central Texas faced the possibility of heavy showers and flash floods, based on US National Weather Service Forecasts.

Confluence of disaster

But twice as much rain as was predicted ended up falling over two branches of the Guadalupe just upstream of the fork where they converge, sending all of that water racing into the single river channel that slices through Kerrville, according to city manager Dalton Rice.

Mr Rice and other public officials, including Governor Greg Abbott, vowed that the circumstances of the flooding and the adequacy of weather forecasts and warning systems would be scrutinised once the immediate situation was brought under control.

In the meantime, search and rescue operations were continuing around the clock, with hundreds of emergency personnel on the ground contending with a myriad of challenges.

“It’s hot, there’s mud, they’re moving debris, there’s snakes,” Mr Martin said during a news briefing on July 6.

Mr Thomas Suelzar, adjutant-general of the Texas Military Department, said airborne search assets included eight helicopters and a remotely piloted MQ-9 Reaper aircraft equipped with advanced sensors for surveillance and reconnaissance missions.

Officials said on July 5 that more than 850 people had been rescued, some clinging to trees, after a sudden storm dumped up to 38cm of rain across the region, about 140km north-west of San Antonio.

In addition to the 68 lives lost in Kerr County, three people died in Burnet County, one in Tom Green County, five in Travis County and one in Williamson County, said Mr Nim Kidd, chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency was activated on July 6 and was deploying resources to Texas after President Donald Trump issued a major disaster declaration, the Department of Homeland Security said.

US Coast Guard helicopters and planes were aiding search and rescue efforts.

Scaling back federal disaster response

Mr Trump, who said on July 6 he would visit the disaster scene, probably on July 11, has previously outlined plans to scale back the federal government’s role in responding to natural disasters, leaving states to shoulder more of the burden themselves.

Some experts questioned whether cuts to the federal workforce by the Trump administration, including to the agency that oversees the National Weather Service, led to a failure by officials to accurately predict the severity of the floods and issue appropriate warnings ahead of the storm.

Mr Trump’s administration has overseen thousands of job cuts from the National Weather Service’s parent agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, leaving many weather offices understaffed, former NOAA director Rick Spinrad said.

Mr Trump pushed back when asked on July 6 if federal government cuts hobbled the disaster response or left key job vacancies at the Weather Service under his oversight.

“That water situation, that all is, and that was really the Biden set-up,” he said, referencing his Democratic predecessor, Mr Joe Biden.

“But I wouldn’t blame Biden for it, either. I would just say this is 100-year catastrophe.” REUTERS