Storms Cause Massive Flooding, Evacuation in San Antonio Area
Source:Texas Public Radio - tpr.org
Storms rolled through San Antonio Saturday and dumped nearly 10 inches of rain, sparking house fires, flooding roads throughout the city, and stranding people in their vehicles and at parks.
San Antonio firefighters responded to nearly 250 water-related incidents. In one case, Chief Charles Hood said his crews were in the middle of rescuing a 60 year old woman when the strong currents grabbed her away from them.
"You can imagine how emotionally spent you are to try to rescue somebody, you're face to face with them and then you're washed, or they're washed away,” he said at a press conference Saturday afternoon at the Bexar County/San Antonio Emergency Operations Center. “So again, we're fortunate nobody was injured in that but we are doing a recovery."
Early Saturday morning, officials say a woman, possibly 29 or 30 years old, was swept away in her vehicle. Her car was pinned against a drainage culvert. She was found dead several hours later.
In just four hours, the National Weather Service said 10 inches of rain had fallen on the city. In Wilson County, southeast of San Antonio, officials told residents to evacuate. The order extended to residents living along the San Antonio River from Elmendorf to below Floresville in Wilson County. A shelter opened at 5:30 Saturday.
Officials said they expected the river to crest at 60 feet early Sunday morning. Flood stage is 35 feet, according to the National Weather Service.
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