Spanish
New York.- At least six people died from flash floods after the heavy rains in Kerr County, in the south of the state of Texas, and authorities have declared an emergency in sections of the Guadalupe River due to a possible increase in flow.
Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly confirmed to San Antonio's News 4 channel six deaths resulting from the floods, but the figure is expected to rise as emergency services carry out rescue operations in the area, the media indicates.
The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued flash flood warnings of "deadly" risk in several counties around San Antonio, including Kerr and Gillespie, therefore it recommends avoiding travel by vehicle and driving in flooded areas.
The sheriff's office confirmed on its Facebook page that there are fatalities but did not specify numbers until family members are notified, and explained that local and state agencies are working on an "extremely active scene" of "catastrophic flooding".
"Residents are encouraged to shelter in place and not attempt to travel. Those near creeks, rivers, and the Guadalupe River should move immediately to higher ground," he added.
The Guadalupe River, at the height of the town of Hunt, went from having a flow of about two meters high around 03:00 local time to almost nine meters at 05:35 today due to torrential rains, according to a graph from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The NWS has warned that its records "indicate that a large and deadly flood wave is moving down the Guadalupe River," CNN reports.
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The heavy rains that have led to the flooding have occurred in some areas of south-central Texas since Thursday night, and this Friday the mayor of Kerrville, in Kerr County, Joe Herring Jr., issued a disaster declaration. The weather office in the nearby town of San Angelo also issued a warning today, warning of a risk to life, asking residents not to travel because there are "flooded roads and rapid rises in rivers and streams." According to local media, in some parts of this area of Texas as much rain has fallen in a few hours as would fall in an entire summer, and the storms are expected to continue for the next few hours of the afternoon of this Friday before dissipating.
