close
Sgt. Jonathan Lamb of the Kerrville Police Department in Texas shared an update Wednesday on rescue and recovery efforts after flash floods.
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Texas police say “sightseeing” residents are making it harder for them to complete their rescue and recovery missions in the wake of deadly flash floods this week.
Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha made the comments during a Wednesday press conference, urging anyone not involved in recovery efforts to “give us room.”
“Our first responders are trying to get to places to do their jobs,” he said. “And people coming here from outside the community, and people within the community, they want to go sightseeing, look at the river, see the flood damage – it’s making our job very hard.”
“We ask folks to give us room to work,” he added.
TEXAS FLOOD SURVIVORS SHARE HARROWING STORIES, SEARCH CONTINUES FOR THOSE STILL MISSING
First responders in Texas are urging residents to stay away from areas where recovery efforts are ongoing. (AP Photo/Rodolfo Gonzalez)
Leitha says authorities are now using heavy machinery to search through dense piles of debris that collected in “bottlenecks” at various places along the flooded rivers and creeks.
He also urged residents who have large piles of debris on their property not to use heavy machinery to remove them until first responders arrive.
“It’s possible there are victims in that debris pile,” Leitha said. “We don’t want to disturb that. Please give us a call…and let us know that you’ve got a debris pile that needs to be checked before you begin that level of clean-up.
Officials said there have confirmed 95 deaths in Kerr County alone, including 59 adults, and 36 children. Of those, 14 and 13 remain unidentified respectively.
Officials added that there are still 161 people reported missing in Kerr County, and they urged residents who may have reunited with missing loved ones to notify authorities.
Social media users, including meteorologists and leftist commentators, ripped liberals and Democratic Party figures blaming the GOP for the destruction caused by flash flooding in central Texas over the weekend. (Michel Fortier/The San Antonio Express-News via AP)
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Authorities noted that some methods of search — such as horseback or ATV patrols — are currently not viable due to hazardous conditions. Numerous low-water crossings and bridges remain in need of repair before emergency teams can fully access all affected locations.
Fox News’ Stepheny Price contributed to this report
Anders Hagstrom is a reporter with Fox News Digital covering national politics and major breaking news events. Send tips to Anders.Hagstrom@Fox.com, or on Twitter: @Hagstrom_Anders.
Sometimes, data breaches result in more than just free credit monitoring. Recently, Facebook began paying…
Navigation apps have become an essential part of modern life. Whether you are commuting to…
Construction robots are no longer a far-off idea. They're already changing job sites by tackling…
We spend so much time online that how we connect to the internet has become…
Shoplifting has long been a challenge for retailers, but a U.S. company now believes that…
Cybercriminals are getting sneakier, and one of their latest tricks is using fake invitation emails…