A woman and her four young grandchildren — aged 6, 7, 8, and 9 — were killed early Saturday morning after a nearby creek flooded over, causing a quiet, deadly surge through a small town in Texas.
Palestine police officers began receiving calls at 12:15 a.m. on Saturday that heavy floodwaters, which had begun to build up on Friday evening, had reached roof level in some neighborhoods, according to a statement by Police Captain James Muniz.
The National Weather Service for Fort Worth issued a severe thunderstorm warning on Saturday morning around 1 a.m. local time for Palestine, and expected it to last until 1:30 a.m.
At 3:45 a.m., authorities were alerted to reports of a family that had gone missing in the area most affected by the flooding.
“Upon arrival, a search was conducted, going house to house, in [waist-deep] floodwater, first responders and residents attempted to located an adult woman, and four grandchildren,” Muniz said.
A neighbor then notified police that he had found the bodies of two children in the front yard of a house close to the street. Officers then found two more children, and their grandmother, 64, shortly after.
The victims' names have been withheld until authorities notify families, Muniz said, adding that between six and eight families have been displaced by the flood.
City officials wrote on Twitter that they were assessing damage from the flooding.
A temporary shelter had been established at a local mall for those displaced by the waters.
The overnight floods are the latest in a spate of fatal storms in Texas. On April 18, six people were killed after unprecedented floods hit Houston.
Thumbnail photo credit: David J. Phillip / AP Photo
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