() Heavy rains caused a catastrophic flood emergency in Texas on Friday, leading to multiple confirmed fatalities.
The Guadalupe River was overwhelmed by heavy rains and residents near the river were advised to seek higher ground, while others were told to shelter in place and not attempt travel.
People have died in Kerr County, though authorities have not confirmed the number of deaths. Officials were still working to identify most of the people who died.
Roads were flooding in Kerrville, which sits about 60 miles northwest of San Antonio and has a population of around 25,000. There are also reports of missing people and authorities could not confirm if all campers at an all-girls Christian summer camp in Hunt, Texas, were accounted for.
Authorities also said dozens of water rescues had been performed as the rain continued to fall.
Between five and 11 inches of rain had fallen by 9 a.m., according to the National Weather Service in Austin and San Antonio, with more rain possible before the storms dissipate Friday afternoon. At one point, the rainfall reached a rate of four inches per hour.
The area was put under a flash flood warning. By Friday morning, the Guadalupe River in western Kerr County had reached 29 feet, reaching the second-highest level on record.
The river surpassed flooding levels seen in 1987, when floods killed 10 teenagers near Comfort, Texas.
Officials in Comfort issued mandatory evacuations on Friday for residents along the river and in Kerrville, police and firefighters were helping people evacuate.
In San Angelo, Texas, photos showed a flooded intersection where water reached the level of street signs and the weather service office there called the floods life-threatening.
Texas officials activated the National Guard and deployed the state’s Department of Public Safety and other resources to the area to handle the flooding.
Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly told media outlets that there was no warning regarding the severity of the flood and said the county doesn’t have a warning system.
The National Weather Service had placed the county under a flood watch Thursday night, with a flash flood warning issued around 1 a.m.
