Floods Sweep Away West Texas RV Park; At Least Four People Missing

JUNCTION, Texas (AP) —
Helicopter crew from the Texas Department of Public Safety performing a rescue from the South Llano River near Junction, Texas. (Texas Parks and Wildlife Department via AP)

Rescue crews in boats and helicopters are searching for at least four people missing since heavy rain washed away a recreational vehicle park in a small West Texas city.

Kimble County Sheriff Hilario Cantu said Monday morning that no fatalities have been confirmed in the floods in Junction, about 140 miles (225 kilometers) west of Austin, but that “all the RVs, everything, got swept away.”

Cantu says state and local agencies are helping with the rescues. Authorities say the city of about 2,500 people had been without electricity earlier, but it has been restored.

In a post on Twitter, the Texas Game Warden said they were conducting helicopter rescues on the river. The agency reported that two people and a dog had been rescued after their RV was swept downstream.

National Weather Service meteorologist Aaron Woodward says the main flooding is along the South Llano River, next to the RV park. Woodward says radar estimates show that up to 12 inches (30 centimeters) of rain has fallen in the area since Sunday evening.

Cantu said they’ve done at least seven swift-water rescues so far.

Cantu said they did not yet know how many people or vehicles might have been swept away. He said an RV park is adjacent to a city and county park. The county park doesn’t allow overnight stays, but the city side does. There were people camping there but it’s not regulated, so he doesn’t know how many people might have been there.

“The problem with the RV park, as far as getting accounting of people and getting information — the main office was also swept away,” he said. “So whatever records they had there are not accessible.”

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