Hundreds of people were forced to relocate to safer areas during a stormy weekend in Texas, United States, due to flash floods and severe rain. In the most recent weather disasters to affect national parks in the United States, at least one hiker was reported to have been washed away in the floods and was still missing on Monday.
“Turn around, don’t drown when encountering flooded roads. Most flood deaths occur in vehicles. Be aware of your surroundings and do not drive on flooded roads,” said the National Weather Service. After a protracted period of exceptional drought, Texas experienced flash floods days later. In the state’s normally tinder-dry southwest, several inches of rain fell over the course of two days. Videos and pictures of the flooded roads and cars that were driving through them overnight have been widely shared online.
In sections of Texas, a quick transition from a severe drought to a flood situation wrought devastation, resulting in the overnight occurrence of more than 50 water-related catastrophes.
Many hikers were left stranded for many hours by the swelling waters as the flash floods tore through numerous national parks in the US, including Zion in Utah and Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico. In other videos, kids were seen in Arizona being rescued from a school bus that had become stranded due to rising water.
The NWS predicted that areas of Mississippi state would also see flooding this week, along with up to seven inches of rain in northern Texas.
Up until the last week of August, the time before the storm was unusually dry with less than an inch of rain. However, the unexpected rainstorm made Monday’s rainfall the second-wettest on record for the region.
More rain is expected throughout the week, according to forecasters. As of Monday night, several counties to the south and east were still on flash flood alert, but Dallas and Fort Worth are currently under flood warnings.
