At least four people have been killed and others are still missing following torrential rain and flash flooding Thursday morning in San Antonio.
The San Antonio Fire Department said it received calls around 5 a.m. when more than a dozen vehicles were swept away in the rushing water after over seven inches of rain came down in about five hours.
San Antonio Fire Chief Valerie Frausto said people were clinging to trees and stranded on an island that formed in the flooding. Photos and video of the scene showed smashed and overturned vehicles submerged in the water.
Four people were found dead and another 10 were rescued. Four of the survivors were hospitalized with injuries.
Frausto said Thursday afternoon as many as five people were still unaccounted for. Search and rescue operations continued into the evening.
“These are low water crossings that the depth of the water and the speed at which it’s traveling are very, very hard to gauge,” said San Antonio Police Chief William McManus. “If you venture into it when the water is deep and the water’s moving real fast, you’re taking your life into your own hands.”
The storm also knocked out power for tens of thousands of residents, most likely because of heavy lightning strikes.
A flood watch warning remained in effect through Thursday night, with possible additional rainfall, according to the National Weather Service.
