SAN ANTONIO — A downpour unleashed in San Antonio on Thursday, swiftly transforming roads into rivers, submerging vehicles, and prompting several individuals to cling to trees for safety as flash floods surged through the area. Firefighters responded urgently to the widespread emergency, executing numerous rescues throughout the seventh-largest city in the country. Authorities confirmed that five individuals lost their lives while two more were reported missing.
The tragic incidents, all concentrated in the northeastern part of San Antonio, involved the discovery of over a dozen vehicles immersed in water. The floodwaters left a trail of destruction, with many vehicles battered and flipped over along a creek, having been swept along by the powerful currents.
Some of those who were pulled to safety reported being caught off-guard and swept away by “sudden fast rising water” while traversing an interstate access road, according to Joe Arrington, a spokesperson for the San Antonio Fire Department. Vehicles were propelled into a nearby creek and carried downstream by the relentless floodwaters.
By Thursday afternoon, rescue teams deployed search dogs in efforts to locate those still missing. Heavily damaged vehicles were being retrieved from the creek as part of the ongoing recovery operations.
Reports of water rescues started pouring in before dawn. Police Chief William McManus stated that among those recovered dead were two women and two men, although their ages were not specified.
In total, the fire department conducted 70 water rescues, handling various situations from assisting drivers stranded in high water to engaging in perilous swift-water rescues. Crews faced several “harrowing” challenges, navigating strong currents to rescue people trapped by the flash flooding.
Authorities described the rescue efforts in the area with fatalities as “extremely difficult,” highlighting the danger and complexity faced by teams. Ten individuals, whose cars had been carried away by the floodwaters, were successfully extracted from trees and brush located about a mile from the point of their unintended entry into the flood.
Meteorologist Eric Platt from the National Weather Service explained that the flooding resulted from an early morning wave of slow-moving showers and thunderstorms in the San Antonio region. Some parts recorded over seven inches (17 centimeters) of rainfall.
By midmorning, the waters began to recede, though intermittent rain persisted. While additional rainfall was expected to be less intense than the overnight deluge, Platt emphasized the risk of flooding due to already saturated ground conditions.