The Sheriff of Kerr County further said that eight were injured. More than 850 people were evacuated. “Five children and twelve adults still have to be identified,” said Seriff Larry Leita during a press conference.
Renne (8) and Janie (9) under victims Drama Texas: parents of Hadley (8) and 22 other girls hope for miracle
“Rescue workers have already saved hundreds of people and will work around the clock to find those who are still missing,” said the Texan governor Greg Abbott. Dozens of people are still missing, including 27 girls who stayed at a Christian summer camp along the river.
Criticism of government about preparations
While rescue teams are looking for the missing, the criticism of the preparations for such extreme weather conditions is growing. Also that summer camps were allowed to take place along the river and that there was not prevention of warning or evacuated, many find it incomprehensible.
Forecast company AccuWeather said that together with the National Weather Service (NWS) warnings sent hours before the destruction about possible floods. It also indicated that it had called on people to go to higher areas and to evacuate areas from flooding.
The NWS later gave emergency signals for floods, a rare warning of threatening danger. “These warnings should have given the authorities sufficient time to evacuate camps such as Camp Mystic and bring people to safety,” AccuWeather said in a statement in which the Texas Hill County called one of the most flood -sensitive areas of the US because of the site and the many water crossings.
Savings on climate and weather organizations
Rob Kelly, judge and therefore highly elected officer of the County, told Sky News that nobody saw this coming. About six or seven years ago, it would have been considered to use a flood warning system that functions such as a warning system for tornados, but that the idea never got off the ground because “the audience horrified the costs.”
Minister of Interior Security Kristi Name was asked on Saturday during a press conference whether the warnings for floods came through fast enough. “We know that everyone wants more warning time, and that is why we are working on improving the technologies that have been neglected for far too long,” it sounded.
Presidential cutbacks on climate and weather organizations were also criticized in the aftermath of the floods, after the government of Donald Trump ordered 800 jobs to scrap the science and climate organization Noaa, the parent organization of the NWS, which predicts and warns the floods in Texas.
Due to heavy rainfall, the water level of the River Guadalupe rose in the night from Thursday to Friday in just 45 minutes by 8 meters. Many people were surprised by the flood and had no time to bring themselves to safety.