TEXAS, July 8 — The death toll from catastrophic flooding in Texas rose to more than 100 yesterday, as rescuers continued their grim search for people swept away by torrents of water.

Among the dead were at least 27 girls and counselors who were staying at a youth summer camp on a river when disaster struck over the Fourth of July holiday weekend.

Forecasters have warned of more flooding as rain falls on saturated ground, complicating recovery efforts involving helicopters, boats and dogs, as the number of victims is expected to rise still.

President Donald Trump is planning to visit Texas on Friday, the White House said, as it slammed critics claiming his cuts to weather agencies had weakened warning systems.

“Blaming President Trump for these floods is a depraved lie, and it serves no purpose during this time of national mourning,” Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Monday.

She said the National Weather Service, which The New York Times reported had several key roles in Texas unfilled before the floods, issued “timely and precise forecasts and warnings.”

Trump has described the floods that struck in the early hours of Friday as a “100-year catastrophe” that “nobody expected.”

The president, who previously said disaster relief should be handled at the state level, has signed a major disaster declaration, activating fresh federal funds and freeing up resources.

Tragedy

Kerr County in central Texas has been hardest hit of the counties devastated by the floods, with 56 adults and 28 children killed, according to the local sheriff’s office.

They include the 27 who had been staying at Camp Mystic, an all-girls Christian camp that was housing about 750 people when the floodwaters struck.

Camps are a beloved tradition in the long US summer holidays, with children often staying in woods, parks and other rural areas.

Texas Senator Ted Cruz described them as a chance to make “lifetime friends—and then suddenly it turns to tragedy.”

In a terrifying display of nature’s power, the rain-swollen waters of the Guadalupe River reached treetops and the roofs of cabins as girls at the camp slept.

Blankets, teddy bears and other belongings were caked in mud. Windows in the cabins were shattered, apparently by the force of the water.

Volunteers were helping search through debris from the river, with some motivated by personal connections to the victims.

“We’re helping the parents of two of the missing children,” Louis Deppe, 62, told AFP. “The last message they got was ‘We’re being washed away,’ and the phone went dead.”

Months’ worth of rain fell in a matter of hours on Thursday night into Friday, and rain has continued in bouts since then.

The Guadalupe surged around 26 feet (eight meters) -- more than a two-story building—in just 45 minutes.

Flash floods, which occur when the ground is unable to absorb torrential rainfall, are not unusual in this region of south and central Texas, known colloquially as “Flash Flood Alley.”

Human-driven climate change has made extreme weather events such as floods, droughts and heat waves more frequent and more intense in recent years. — AFP

HUNT: Jumlah kematian akibat banjir besar di Texas meningkat kepada lebih 100 orang, semalam dan pasukan penyelamat masih meneruskan pencarian mangsa-mangsa yang dihanyutkan oleh arus deras.

Antara yang terkorban termasuk kira-kira 27 orang gadis dan kaunselor yang sedang menginap di sebuah kem musim panas di tepi sungai sewaktu bencana itu melanda pada hujung minggu cuti Hari Kemerdekaan Amerika.

Pakar kaji cuaca sebelum ini memberi amaran mengenai kejadian banjir, memandangkan hujan berterusan di atas kawasan tanah yang sudah tepu air dan ia menyukarkan usaha penyelamatan membabitkan helikopter, bot dan anjing pengesan.

Menurut pejabat sheriff tempatan, daerah Kerr di tengah Texas menjadi kawasan yang paling teruk terjejas, dengan 56 orang dewasa dan 28 orang kanak-kanak maut.

Ia termasuklah 27 orang yang sedang menginap di Camp Mystic, sebuah kem Kristian untuk gadis yang ketika itu menempatkan sejumlah 750 orang.

Kem musim panas menjadi satu tradisi yang digemari sepanjang cuti panjang musim panas di AS di mana kanak-kanak sering menginap di kawasan hutan, taman atau luar bandar.

Senator Texas, Ted Cruz, menyifatkan kem ini sebagai peluang untuk membina 'persahabatan seumur hidup' tetapi tiba-tiba bertukar menjadi tragedi.

Air Sungai Guadalupe yang melimpah turut mencapai puncak pokok dan bumbung kabin sewaktu kumpulan gadis di kem sedang tidur.

Selimut, patung beruang dan barangan peribadi lain juga dilihat disaluti lumpur manakala tingkap-tingkap kabin pecah, dipercayai akibat hentaman air yang kuat.

"Kami membantu ibu bapa kepada dua kanak-kanak yang masih hilang Mesej terakhir yang kami terima ialah mereka sedang dihanyutkan dan talian terus terputus," kata Louis Deppe, 62, kepada AFP.

Sementara itu, Rumah Putih juga mengesahkan, Presiden Donald Trump turut merancang untuk melawat Texas, Jumaat ini sekali gus menepis kritikan yang mendakwa pemotongan bajet kepada agensi cuaca oleh pentadbirannya melemahkan sistem amaran awal.

"Menyalahkan Presiden Trump atas kejadian banjir ini adalah satu pembohongan yang kejam, dan tidak membantu pada waktu sukar ini," kata Setiausaha Akhbar Karoline Leavitt kepada wartawan, semalam.

Beliau berkata, Perkhidmatan Cuaca Kebangsaan sudah mengeluarkan "'ramalan dan amaran yang tepat dan tepat pada masanya."

Trump menggambarkan banjir yang berlaku pada awal Jumaat itu sebagai "bencana seratus tahun" yang "tidak dijangka sesiapa." - AFP

WASHINGTON: Presiden Amerika Syarikat (AS), Donald Trump menyalahkan pentadbiran era Joe Biden berhubung kegagalan sistem amaran awal dalam tragedi banjir kilat yang melanda Texas.

Dengan jumlah kematian semakin meningkat, Trump terus menuding jari kepada pentadbiran terdahulu dan mendakwa tragedi itu sebagai ‘perangkap Biden’.

Bercakap kepada pemberita kelmarin, beliau turut mempertahankan tindakan pentadbirannya sebelum ini yang memotong secara besar-besaran bajet dan kakitangan agensi ramalan cuaca negara, termasuk Perkhidmatan Cuaca Kebangsaan (NWS).

Sebaliknya, Trump menyifatkan banjir kilat itu sebagai ‘bencana 100 tahun’ yang tiada siapa jangka.

Apabila ditanya sama ada beliau akan mengambil semula pakar kaji cuaca yang diberhentikan, Trump dengan tegas menjawab ‘tidak akan’ berbuat demikian.

Beliau juga mengelak daripada mengakui pemotongan itu mungkin melemahkan sistem amaran awal dan menyumbang kepada jumlah korban yang tinggi.

Dalam nada tidak acuh, beliau turut enggan menjawab soalan mengenai rancangannya untuk memansuhkan Agensi Pengurusan Kecemasan Persekutuan (FEMA).

“FEMA adalah sesuatu yang boleh dibincangkan kemudian,” katanya ringkas.

Trump, yang sebelum ini pernah menyatakan bahawa bantuan bencana sepatutnya dikendalikan di peringkat negeri, turut menandatangani pengisytiharan bencana besar yang membolehkan sumber persekutuan disalurkan ke Texas.

KEMUSNAHAN DAHSYAT

Sheriff Daerah Kerr, Larry Leitha berkata, sekurang-kur­angnya 68 orang termasuk 28 kanak-kanak maut dalam kejadian di kawasan itu, yang paling teruk terjejas di tengah Texas.

Manakala, kira-kira 10 lagi dilaporkan meninggal dunia akibat banjir di kawasan berdekatan.

Di tengah Texas, sebanyak 17 helikopter dikerahkan dalam usaha mencari mangsa yang masih hilang, termasuk 10 kanak-kanak perempuan dan seorang kaunselor dari sebuah kem musim panas.

Kira-kira 750 orang dilaporkan berada di Camp Mystic ketika bencana mengejut itu.

Dalam insiden tragis yang mengejutkan ramai, limpahan air Sungai Guadalupe mencecah hingga bumbung kabin ketika peserta sedang tidur pada Jumaat lalu, menyebabkan sebahagian mereka dihanyutkan dan meninggalkan kemusnahan yang dahsyat.

Selimut, anak patung dan barangan peribadi lain di kem tersebut ditemukan berselut, manakala tingkap kabin pecah dipercayai akibat tekanan air yang kuat.

NWS memberi amaran pada Ahad, ribut petir yang bergerak perlahan berisiko menyebabkan lebih banyak banjir kilat di kawasan berkenaan.

Gabenor Texas, Greg Abbott turut memberi amaran hujan berterusan berisiko mencetuskan banjir kilat di Kerrville dan kawasan berhampiran.

PARAS SUNGAI GUADALUPE

Dalam tempoh hanya 45 minit, paras air Sungai Guadalupe melonjak sehingga lapan meter bersamaan ketinggian bangunan dua tingkat.

Fenomena banjir kilat bukan sesuatu yang luar biasa di kawasan dikenali sebagai ‘Flash Flood Alley’, di mana hujan lebat secara tiba-tiba sukar diserap oleh tanah kering dan berbatu.

Namun, saintis memberi amaran perubahan iklim yang didorong oleh aktiviti manusia menyebabkan cuaca ekstrem seperti banjir, kemarau dan gelombang haba menjadi lebih kerap serta dahsyat.

Sementara operasi menyelamat masih giat dijalankan, pihak berkuasa juga memulakan proses pembersihan kawasan terjejas.

“Ada serpihak dan sisa runtuhan di merata tempat, menghalang laluan, menyukarkan kerja pembinaan semula,” kata Abbott dalam satu kenyataan.

Bagaimanapun, pihak berkuasa tempatan meminta orang ramai menghentikan penggunaan dron atas faktor keselamatan, kerana ia menganggu operasi penerbangan helikopter penyelamat. – AFP

HUNT, United States: As the raging Guadalupe River burst its banks and wreaked havoc in central Texas, a young woman named Joyce Bandon sent a text message that may have been her last.

Triggering one of many frantic search efforts, Bandon pleaded for help from a house along the river, according to Louis Deppe, leader of a group of volunteers trying to help the Bandon family find their daughter.

Torrential rains starting the night before the Independence Day holiday caused the river to rise the height of a two-story building in less than hour, flooding parts of Kerr County, including several children's camps, tearing down trees and tossing cars as if they were toys.

The death toll as of Sunday afternoon was at least 78, with more casualties expected. Bandon and three friends had gone to a country house to spend the July 4 holiday together.

It rained all Thursday night into Friday morning, when disaster struck.

"Their house collapsed at about 4 in the morning and they were being washed away. On her cellphone, the last message (her family) got was 'we're being washed away' and the phone went dead," Deppe told AFP.

He said the team works in groups of two or three people as they look through the debris and detritus left behind by the deluge.

"One of the bodies was 8 to 10 feet in a tree, surrounded up by so much debris. Not one person could see it, so the more eyes, the better," he added.

The river is returning to normal now but there is utter destruction everywhere on its banks, like a dead cow hanging from a tree, its head caught between two branches.

Nearby a pickup truck lies upside down and around it dozens of dead fish swept out of the water are beginning to rot and stink.

Helicopters fly overhead looking for survivors or bodies while rescue teams in boats ride up and down the river and emergency officials comb its banks.

Little by little, debris like uprooted trees and ruined cars is being taken away.

Tina Hambly, 55, the mother of Joyce Bandon's best friend and roommate, walks around with a kayak oar poking at branches and other debris, hoping to find something or someone.

"We're doing a seven-mile stretch, and there's seven teams and we're doing a mile apiece, so just kind of dividing and conquering, trying to find any four of them or anyone," Hambly told AFP.

"But, you know, we are friends and families and frankly, some strangers have shown up," she added.

In the town of Hunt, one of the worst hit areas, a summer gathering for children called Camp Mystic initially reported dozens of those kids missing in the flooding. The figure now stands at 11 plus a counselor.

Toys, clothing, towels and other belongings lie strewn around camp cabins full of mud.

The volunteers looking for Bandon have found some bodies – two early on Saturday morning and then another stuck in debris up in a tree. "And they did let me know that she was one of the Camp Mystic girls that went missing," said Justin Morales, 36, part of the search team.

"We're happy to give a family closure," he said. "That's why we're out here." - AFP