Rescuers woke Loren Guilien in the early morning. Outside, screams arrived. He opened the window of his house and saw how the Guadalup river grew at least ten meters since he went to bed, completely covering the seven acres of his property.
Guillén lives next to the channels and rental sections of their land for people who arrive with their auto house – RV, as they are known in English – and pay monthly income to park there. One of those families, two adults and three children, clinging to a tree, trying with all their might not to drag a stream.
“Send me one of your children!” The father of the tenants screamed, trying to help. Hands lost, and Gillen saw from their window how they disappeared between branches, trees and violent advancement of water.
The floods caused by a storm that fell into South Texas between Saturday and Sunday morning leave at least 52 dead, in addition to an indefinite figure of missing people, including 27 girls who conducted summer in a Christian camp.
The destroyers, which left the flood of the Guadalup River, which extends 370 kilometers and divides several villages in the middle, reaches where the view extends.
Cars turned with tires, as toys abandoned by the child; RUFKI HIMERS with pieces of windows, canoe, mattresses and light pillars; Asphalt pieces are scattered like pieces of puzzles.
Among the remains, various security forces deployed in the region continued with the search for missing. According to local leaders, in boats, helicopters and legs, the authorities touched the place and managed to save about 850 people.
The sheriff of the Kerr district, Larry Leita, Jr., said on Sunday that they would not remain until “each of the people.”
“This community is strong and will remain united at this painful moment,” said Leita Jr. to journalists. For his part, Greg Ebbott Governor asked the Donald Trump administration to sign a disaster and announced on Sunday the “prayer day” at the state level in honor of the victims.
Emergency warning
From 1:00 on Saturday, the National Meteorological Service (NWS) began to issue alerts about the threat of floods in the flag and Kerr districts.
Gillen received several of them on his mobile phone, but, according to the EF, these notifications are common in this area: “We get a lot of a year.” Before falling asleep, he consulted with the sheriff of the Kerr County, who, according to him, told him that there was no order to evacuate. Gillen comes from San Luis Potosi, Mexico.
In one of the first press, after the disaster, the authorities admitted that the forecasts of rain underestimated the amount of precipitation.
Some experts, however, expressed doubts about how prepared the region, given the magnitude of the tragedy.
“It seems that they could take (…) preventive measures to reduce the risk of death if the organizers of the injured camps and local authorities took part in the warnings of the government and private weather sources,” said the chief meteorologist of Accuweather, the local environment of The Texas Tribune reports.
In total, between July 3 to the morning of 4, they accumulated from 12.7 to 27.9 centimeters of the rain in the districts of Kerr, the flag, Tom Green and Kendall, according to NWS.
“I was lucky to be alive”
At 70, Jeff Haflin lived almost his whole life near the Guadalup River. Nevertheless, he emphasized the Ephery, he never saw the flood of this seriousness.
It is supported in a metal chair surrounded by several things that he managed to leave his house on wheels – a guitar corps, some cowboy shoes, two kitchen boxes full of mud, – Texas said that he also saw notification on his phone, but did not make them more cases because he was “used to”.
At about three in the morning, when he was going to go to bed, the owner of the earth, where his rolling house fell into his door. When he came out, the water already reached his knees.
“I heard people, in their caravans, dragged and asked for help. We could not do anything, ”he said. “I was lucky that I am alive.”
With information EFE
