ANKARA, Jul 9 : Officials in Texas are under growing pressure to explain delayed emergency response efforts after a devastating flash flood killed more than 100 people and left 161 missing, press reports said Tuesday.
Four days after the Guadalupe River rose 26 feet (7.9 meters) in just 45 minutes during the early hours of July 4, leaders in Kerr County were unable to confirm whether appropriate evacuation warnings were issued in time, according to NBC News.
“We’re in the process of trying to put a timeline, that’s going to take a little bit of time,” Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha told a Tuesday news conference, stressing that immediate efforts remained focused on locating victims and notifying families.
Many of the fatalities occurred at a summer camp on the river’s edge, where 57 adults and 30 children lost their lives.
County residents have raised concerns over the lack of emergency alerts, which could have allowed the public to seek safe ground.
“I didn’t get one alert,” said Marvin Willis, who lives 1.5 miles (2.4 kilometers) from the river.
Kerrville Mayor Joe Herring said he was only awakened at 5.30 am local time (0830GMT) by a call from the city manager.
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