US President Donald Trump declared a state of emergency in Kerr County, Texas, today due to flooding that has claimed dozens of lives, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
The declaration of a state of emergency is being made "to ensure that our brave first responders have the resources they need immediately. These families are experiencing an unimaginable tragedy, with many lives lost and many people still missing," Trump wrote on social media.
The death toll from flooding in Texas is now approaching 60 people and is expected to rise further, local authorities announced today. They are engaged in the search for 27 children reported missing in the disaster.
“Our message to the parents of the 27 missing children is that we will not give up on them“, dead or alive,“ said the state's lieutenant governor Dan Patrick on “Fox News“ and stressed the importance of believing in “miracles“.
The flooding was caused by heavy rains in the central part of the state on Friday, when the Guadalupe River rose by eight meters in just 45 minutes.
Twenty-seven girls from Camp Mystic “ - a Christian camp for girls by the river in Hunt, Texas - are still missing. The water had largely receded at the camp site, but a devastated landscape was visible with dozens of stranded cars, some of which were pinned down by trees. Chaos reigned in the houses where the girls were housed. Mud-covered floors and broken windows testified to the force of the floods, AFP notes.
About 500 rescuers and 14 helicopters are involved in field operations, and the Texas National Guard and Coast Guard have sent reinforcements.