Devastating floods, caused by torrential rains in Texas, left at least 32 dead, including 14 children, according to a report updated on Saturday. Just under 30 minors are still missing. The latter participated in a summer camp with more than 750 other children.
“There are 32 people who died, 18 adults and 14 children,” said the sheriff at a press conference, adding that the number of missing remained 27. These are children who participated in a Christian summer camp for girls on the banks of the Guadalupe river.
According to the authorities, the level of the river, which crosses this area, located in the center of Texas, has risen about eight meters in 45 minutes. It fell “nearly 300 millimeters/hour of rain over this period, a third of the average annual precipitation of the county.
About twenty missing children
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Texas assistant governor Dan Patrick said he was “without news from around thirty” children out of the 750 who participated in a summer camp for a press conference.
“This does not mean that they are among the victims, they could be in a tree or without communication,” he added.
We had no reason to believe that it was going to be something like what happened
About 500 rescuers and 14 helicopters were deployed, while the Texas National Guard and the United States Coast Guard sent reinforcements.
Other precipitation expected
“The rain has calmed down, but we know that another wave arrives,” warned the Director of Public Security of Texas, Freeman Martin, stressing that precipitation was also expected in the areas of San Antonio and Austin.
In mid-June, at least ten people had perished due to floods in San Antonio, also in Texas, following torrential rains.
>> The explanations of our correspondent in the United States in Forum:
LBL with agencies