By Jim Forsyth
SAN ANTONIO, May 26 (Reuters) – Rescue crews in a San
Antonio suburb worked on Sunday to find a teenager believed to
have drowned during a flash flood a day earlier, which could
raise the storm’s death toll to three.
Police in Schertz, northeast of San Antonio, said an
18-year-old man was walking with a friend across usually placid
Cibolo Creek when they were washed downstream by a huge flood
surge. The friend managed to climb to shore, but officials
believe the 18-year-old has drowned.
The two people confirmed dead so far are a 29-year-old woman
and a woman in her 60s who were washed away as they attempted to
drive their cars across flooded roads, said San Antonio Fire
Department spokesman Christian Bove.
Suspected tornadoes touched down in the San Antonio area
late Saturday as well, causing minor damage. But the real
culprit was this state’s legendary flash flooding, which can
turn a dry creek bed into a swirling torrent within seconds.
Adding to the city’s woes, a 54-inch (137 cm) sewer line
cracked, spilling more than 100,000 gallons (378,541 liters) of
sewage into the San Antonio River, said Anne Hayden, a
spokeswoman for the city’s water and sewer utility.
“The line was overwhelmed by the major storm flows,” she
said. She added that crews at one point had to stop their repair
work out of concerns for workers’ safety due to high water.
Bexar County spokeswoman Laura Jesse said emergency
operations crews will fan out on Monday to assess damage to
public and private property including roads, bridges, and
drainage canals, as well as dozens of homes which had to be
evacuated due to flooding.
The storm waters were so strong they picked up a city bus
and swept it into a ditch, according to Priscilla Ingle, a
spokeswoman for Via Metro Transit.
(Editing By Nick Carey and Maureen Bavdek)
