Heavy rain is pounding Kerr County, Texas, and the “catastrophic flooding” has turned deadly, sheriff’s officials said.
Up to 10 inches of rain was recorded Friday morning in Kerr County, about 60 miles north of San Antonio, with rainfall rates at one point reaching up to 4 inches per hour. A flash flood emergency has been issued.
“The entire county is an extremely active scene,” the Kerr County Sheriff’s Office said on Friday.
The sheriff’s office confirmed fatalities but did not disclose how many. The city of Kerrville also said there are missing persons.
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The Guadalupe River in Kerr County is rising rapidly and has reached its second-highest height on record, the National Weather Service said.
While most residents should avoid traveling, “those near creeks, streams, and the Guadalupe River should immediately move to higher ground,” the sheriff’s office warned.
At a campground along the Guadalupe River, campers filmed videos of themselves evacuating in the middle of the night as they noticed flood water encroaching under their vehicle. Other videos showed cars and cabins submerged.
“I was up all night keeping an eye on weather alerts. 2am there was a river flood warning. The river was a good distance from our site, so we thought we would be fine,” one camper, Katie, told ABC News via Instagram. “At about 5:30am, we heard banging on our RV door, yelling for us to get out now. The Guadalupe River had risen rapidly. We got the kids in the truck and were prepared to leave our camper behind if need be. We were able to hook up our camper and get it out too.”
“The river was up to the back of our campsite when we left. The river was raging and you could hear trees and objects breaking,” she said. “It was a very scary situation, but we are very blessed by the workers at the park for waking people up and getting us out of there. Praying for everyone affected by the flooding.”
City officials said “search and recovery efforts are ongoing and will increase as the waters recede.”
ABC News’ Kenton Gewecke and Helena Skinner contributed to this report.
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