A “Pitch-Black Wall of Death” flooded Central Texas in early 4 July, killing at least 70 people after the Guadalup River, which increased 26 feet high in just 45 minutes. The disaster hit Ker County, where 59 died, in which 21 children were swept away from the revision summer camp.
The Gwadalupa River slept camper with a gain of 26 feet in 45 minutes.
The rain reduced so fast that the families sleeping in cabins and campers did not have time to run away.
A survivor described sticking to a tree for hours because the water passed through her grandmother’s house: “I just had to swim from the window to survive”. The floods broke the buildings, washed the roads, and trapped hundreds of people, which required helicopter rescue.
A Christian girls camp faced the worst tragedy, the worst tragedy. Floodwithers submerged 16 young campers in cabins near the river, while 11 girls and a counselor remained missing three days later.
The camp owner Richard “Dick” Eastland tried to save the children according to witnesses.
Heartbreaking stories came out: 8 -year -old Renee Smastrela’s family confirmed her death, saying that she was doing “time of her life” in the camp a few hours ago.
Sisters Blair (13) and Brook Harbor (11) died with their grandparents, who are still missing. Helicopters empt 750 campers, but many cabins were found to be filled with mud, dumped like a toy.
Rescuers are still searching for flooded areas with drones, helicopters and boats. More than 1,700 workers have saved 850 people since Friday – some found clinging to trees or roofs. But it is expected that the mission changes from rescue to recovery. President Trump approved federal disaster assistance for Ker County after Governor Greg Abbott begged for help.
With the forecast of up to 10 inches, there is a hindrance in the discovery of rain. Volunteers of groups like World Central Kitchen are feeding families waiting for news at evacuation centers. The Governor of Kentki said, “What is happening to these families is a pure hell.”
Officials admitted that no flood warning system exists as criticism
The officials get angry on why no warning came. Ker County admitted that it has no flood warning system, in which Judge Rob Kelly said: “Nobody saw it”.
Although the National Meteorological Service released flood watches, many residents did not get any phone alert.
Critics blamed the weather agencies for the old forecasts, who reduced the rain by reducing the rain. Experts note that climate change makes such disasters more likely, as hot air keeps more rain.
The name of the region is the soil in the “Flash Flood Ale” that cannot absorb a sudden decline. At a stressful press conference, the authorities asked that when the camps were not evacuated, it was asked that “we are focusing on finding children”.
