This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jun/02/texas-soldiers-dead-missing-army-rain-floods

The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Three soldiers dead and six missing after army truck overturns in Texas creek Five soldiers dead and four missing after army truck overturns in Texas creek
(about 13 hours later)
Three soldiers were killed and six were missing after an army truck was washed from a low-water crossing and overturned on Thursday in a rain-swollen creek at Fort Hood, the Texas army post said. Army teams and other emergency crews searched along a Fort Hood creek for four soldiers still missing from a truck that overturned in the swift water, killing at least five and injuring three.
Three other soldiers were rescued from the swift water and were in stable condition on Thursday afternoon at Coryell Memorial Healthcare System in Gatesville. Fort Hood spokesman Chris Haug said the search continued after teams late Thursday night found the bodies of two soldiers who had been in the vehicle. Three others were found dead shortly after the 2-ton truck overturned in Owl Creek during a morning training exercise on the sprawling central Texas army post.
The accident happened about 11.30am in an area near Cold Springs and Owl Creek, Fort Hood said in a statement. Three soldiers were rescued and were hospitalized in stable condition.
Army aircraft, canine search teams, swift-water rescue watercraft and heavy trucks were being used in the search for the six missing soldiers. The army did not release the names of the dead because it was still notifying relatives. Aerial and ground crews searched the 20-mile creek that winds through heavily wooded terrain on the northern fringe of the base. Army aircraft, canine search teams, swift-water rescue watercraft and heavy trucks were being used.
A Fort Hood spokesman, John Miller, said the low-water crossing of the creek was flooded by two days of intermittent heavy rains when the swift water swept the truck, called a light medium tactical vehicle, from the road. The Army did not release the names of the dead because it was still notifying relatives.
Parts of Texas have been inundated with rain in the last week. More storms were on the way that could dump up to 10 inches of rain from Thursday through Saturday and worsen flooding caused by rivers and other waterways that have already risen to record levels. Parts of Texas have been inundated with rain in the past week, and more than half of the state is under flood watches or warnings, including the counties near Fort Hood. At least six people died in floods last week in central and south-east Texas.
About half of Texas is under flood watches or warnings, including Fort Bend County, south-west of Houston, where about 1,400 homes have been affected by the Brazos river, swollen by heavy rainfall from last week. Fort Hood spokesman John Miller said the crossing was flooded by two days of intermittent heavy rains when the swift water swept the truck, called a light medium tactical vehicle, from the road. The vehicle resembles a flatbed truck with a walled bed and is used to carry troops.
A storm system that moved through the Houston-area on Wednesday night and Thursday morning dumped nearly eight inches of rain in some of the city’s northern suburbs, causing flooding in some neighborhoods. The Texas governor, Greg Abbott, issued a statement saying the state “stands ready to provide any assistance to Fort Hood as they deal with this tragedy”.
The river reached 54.8ft in Fort Bend County – four feet higher than the record set in 1994 – with water spilling into neighborhoods that had not previously flooded. Officials say levels in the Brazos have not dropped much and additional rainfall could make the flooding worse. The base has seen fatal training accidents before. In November 2015, four soldiers were killed when a Black Hawk helicopter crashed during a training exercise. And in June 2007, a soldier who went missing for four days after a solo navigation exercise died from hyperthermia and dehydration while training in 90-degree heat.
“With the rain that’s predicted, that’s not going to help things as that water has no place to go,” said Lt Lowell Neinast, with the police department in Richmond, where more than 700 people have been evacuated due to the Brazos river. Thursday’s accident came the same day the Navy said a pilot was killed when his Blue Angels fighter jet crashed near Nashville. Speaking in Singapore, the US defense secretary, Ash Carter, expressed condolences to the families of those killed in both accidents and said once investigations are complete, the military will take actions designed to prevent such incidents in the future.
Depending on how much rain falls, the Brazos river could even rise to up to 56ft, said Fort Bend County judge Robert Hebert. Also Thursday, the pilot of a US Air Force Thunderbird ejected safely into a Colorado field, crashing the fighter jet moments after flying over a crowd watching Barack Obama’s commencement address for Air Force cadets.
Across Texas, many were watching a new batch of storms that could dump up to 10 inches of rain from Thursday through Saturday and worsen flooding caused by waterways that already have risen to record levels.
The heaviest rainfall Thursday night was reported in LaPorte, on the western shore of Galveston Bay, where 4.36 inches of rain was recorded between 5-8pm.
Earlier, a storm system that moved through the Houston area Wednesday night and Thursday morning dumped nearly 8 inches of rain in some of the city’s northern suburbs, causing flooding in some neighborhoods. In Fort Bend County, south-west of Houston, about 1,400 homes have been affected by the Brazos river, swollen by heavy rainfall from last week.
Officials say levels in the Brazos have not dropped much and additional rainfall could make the flooding worse.
“With the rain that’s predicted, that’s not going to help things as that water has no place to go,” said Lt Lowell Neinast, with the police department in Richmond, where more than 700 people have been evacuated.
The Fort Bend County emergency management coordinator, Jeff Braun, said officials have worked to warn and prepare residents ahead of the additional rainfall.
More than 50 people are staying at shelters in Fort Bend County, one of the 31 counties included in a disaster declaration by Abbott. Braun said it could be at least a week before the flooding recedes and residents can go home.
This week’s storms are the latest in a string of torrential rains since May 2015 that have put swaths of the state underwater. Some areas now overwhelmed by water had run dry two years ago due to drought conditions.