San Antonio Mourns 11 Killed In Floods

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

SAN ANTONIO, USA (Worthy News) – Residents in the U.S. city of San Antonio plunged into mourning Saturday after record-breaking rainfall triggered severe flash flooding, leaving at least 11 people dead, dozens injured, and causing widespread damage in the area.

Several people were reportedly still missing.

Flash flooding impacted Bexar County, including San Antonio in Texas. Authorities said over 70 water rescues were carried out, in addition to the fatalities.

It came after San Antonio International Airport recorded 162  millimeters (6.37  inches) of rain in 24 hours, its highest June daily in decades, while elsewhere in the region even amounts were observed.

While rain was partly to blame, questions were also raised about the ailing and aging infrastructure in San Antonio, a city of some 1.5 million people.

District 10 San Antonio City Councilman Marc Whyte said his office is “looking at everything” related to Thursday’s deadly flooding that left at least 11 dead and others missing inside his district.

WALL OF WATER

Whyte told Texas Public Radio that it looked like “a big wall of water” swept 15 vehicles off the Loop 410 frontage road and into Beitel Creek.

He said nobody is sure if the tragedy was related to anything beyond an act of nature, such as the failure of any city infrastructure.

“Regardless of how or why this happened, it’s a tragedy. We’re thinking about everybody who lost a loved one,” he stressed.

However, Whyte said his district office is prepared to help the families of flood victims.

He has been a proponent of spending on “basics” like streets and drainage, and he said the deadly event is another reason the council should focus on such issues.

Beitel Creek, a small creek in Northeast San Antonio, flows off the better-known Salado Creek. Regarding aging infrastructure across the city, he said, “We can do better. “

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