Unconfirmed number of fatalities in Texas flooding.
Amid deadly flash floods in central Texas,
rescue and evacuation efforts are underway. Months of intense rain poured in a matter of hours, causing rivers to overflow and resulting in potentially fatal floods. Rescue and evacuation efforts were in progress throughout Central Texas on Friday morning. "The circumstances are lethal! Early Friday, the San Angelo National Weather Service (NWS) issued an urgent warning to stay off the roadways. "Water levels in rivers and streams are rising quickly, and roads are expected to be washed out."
On Friday morning, floods in Kerr County, which is roughly 75 miles west of Austin, became fatal. "Kerr County is experiencing catastrophic flooding," the Sheriff's Office posted on social media. "We can confirm deaths, but until families are informed, no other information will be provided. Extreme activity is occurring throughout the county. It is advised that locals refrain from traveling and remain in secure areas. The catastrophic flooding in Kerrville, the county seat of Kerr County, prompted Mayor Joe Herring Jr. to declare a disaster for the city on Friday morning.
From San Angelo to Kerrville, there was widespread rainfall of 4 to 6 inches between Thursday night and Friday morning, with some locations receiving more over 10 inches. Shortly before the Fourth of July holiday weekend started, this unexpected flood caused several flash flood problems. By 4 a.m. Friday, the NWS had already issued at least five flood warnings for portions of Tom Green, Kerr, and Kendall counties, including the most severe level, known as a "flash flood emergency." Tom Green County is home to San Angelo, which has a population of about 100,000. An early-morning police advisory in San Angelo advised residents to "stay home and avoid travel" and, if necessary, seek shelter in the city's lower areas.
Some areas experienced more rainfall in a few hours than is usually experienced over the course of a summer, rapidly filling the parched land and resulting in abrupt, severe flooding. Particularly at risk is Central Texas, which is now dealing with one of the worst droughts in the United States. Flash floods are more likely to occur in this region because dry soil is less able to absorb water. River level gauges along portions of the Guadalupe River near the Kerr County village of Hunt indicated an impending “massive and deadly flood wave,” the NWS said. In just three hours, the river climbed 22 feet, and by Friday morning, it was at its second-highest level ever. Later, the gauge used to measure the rise of the river was damaged by the flooding and ceased to function.
These catastrophic weather events are becoming more common, according to a recent study that connected them to global warming brought on by pollution from fossil fuels. As slow-moving storms continue to hover over already-devastated areas, heavy rain is predicted to persist Friday morning. Certain storms could linger into the afternoon before progressively waning. Any more rain will probably make the current flooding worse and may even cause the creation of new, severe flood zones.