The United Nations World Meteorological Organization (Wmo)) said That tragedy highlights growing global challenges around extreme precipitation, warning dissemination and community preparation.
Sudden floods are the most deadly form of flood, responsible for more than 5,000 deaths per year and 85% of all deaths linked to floods worldwide, according to OMM data, and cause economic losses of more than $ 50 billion per year.
“” Unlike river floods with slow appearance, sudden floods have a very limited time for the reaction“Said the agency in a press release on Wednesday.
“” This makes short -term forecasts and preparation for the essential community.“”
Total of the precipitation of a day of the Imerg Multi-Satellite precipitation product of NASA show strong precipitation on the center of Texas on July 4, 2025.
Months of rains in hours
At night 3 to 4 July, the torrential rains – up to 46 centimeters (about 18 inches) in a few hours – sent a wall of water through the Guadalupe river basin from the County of Kerr around 4 am, catching many residents and holidaymakers off -turn.
The US National Weather Service has published timely alerts – including surveillance of lightning floods at more than 12 hours in advance, passed to an emergency of sudden floods approximately three hours before the impact.
Warnings were broadcast by meteorological radio, emergency management systems and television and radio stations, but many people, including hundreds of children in the summer camps, have not been reached in time.
Flood waters have increased spectacular while the Guadalupe river increased by almost 8 meters (about 26 feet) in about 45 minutes.
According to the media, among the hardest hardest, the summer camp, the Mystic camp, along the river, where at least 27 campers and advisers died. Texas state authorities report that more than 160 people remain missing.
The disaster has sparked one of the greatest efforts to research and rescue the history of the state.
More frequent and severe floods
Sudden floods are not new, but their frequency and intensity increase in many regions due to rapid urbanization, the change of land use and a climate of warming.
“” A warmer atmosphere contains more humidity and this therefore means that extreme precipitation events become more frequent“Said WMO.
The Texas disaster joins a series of recent catastrophic floods. In 2022, sudden floods in Pakistan killed more than 1,700 people and moved millions. In 2024, floods in Europe, the Middle East and Africa experienced $ 36 billion in economic damages.
And just this week, a sudden flood along the Nepalese-Chinese border swept the main bridge connecting the two countries.
In September 2022, Pakistan was struck by devastating floods that left large sections of the country underwater.
Country of support
To help countries predict these dangers, WMO uses the flash flood orientation system, a real-time forecasting platform used in more than 70 countries. It incorporates satellite data, radar and weather models to detect local threats from sudden floods and supports training programs to strengthen national capacities.
Beyond technology, the agency plays a competition role by strengthening national capacity, certifying experts and facilitating real-time coordination between forecast agencies and disaster managers.
Publicado anteriormente en Almouwatin.
