Helicopters helped evacuate 27 people early Sunday from Chalk Bluff Park in Uvalde County as the rain-swollen Nueces River rapidly rose, the television station reported.
According to the National Weather Service, between 8 and 9 inches of rainwater fell during a three-hour period in the area.
Here's video footage of the swollen Nueces River at the Mile 19 Bridge on Highway 55 in Uvalde County (lat/lon: 29.40 N, 100.00 W). Up to 8-9 inches of rain fell in & around this area in the span of about 3 hours earlier this morning. Video courtesy of Lonnie Davenport. pic.twitter.com/RFV6BfhnvF
— NWS Austin/San Antonio (@NWSSanAntonio) August 12, 2018
"This is not the first time this has happened. The Nueces River is quite a wild river," Uvalde County Judge William Mitchell told KENS. "It does what it wants to, when it wants to. With 10 inches of rain on top of it during the middle of the night, it'll do all kinds of things."
Uvalde Assistant City Manager Joe Cardenas said one family barely escaped the rising waters.
"Apparently they were told to go to higher ground, to climb up a tree," Cardenas told KSAT. "And I understand that's what they did, until help got out there and help pulled them out of that water. I also understand that they mentioned that their vehicle got washed away."
At least four cars were swept away, but everyone was accounted for, KENS reported.
There were no injuries reported, according to KSAT. Video showed a helicopter delivering life jackets to people who were trapped in the bed of a pickup truck, the television station reported.
Here's a comparison of what the Nueces River at the 19 Mile Bridge on Highway 55 in Uvalde County looks like normally vs. what it looks like right now after up to 8 inches of rain has fallen in the area. Photo courtesy of Lonnie Davenport. pic.twitter.com/m9MEuqzh7a
— NWS Austin/San Antonio (@NWSSanAntonio) August 12, 2018
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