Hello there. Welcome to News Hour from the BBC World Service,
which is coming to you live from London with me, Sean Lay.
In the US state of Texas,
two dozen people are known to have died after intense rainfall engorged the Guadalupe River,
resulting in flash flooding.
The state governor, Greg Abbott, said rescue operations would continue all night.
After announcing he'd signed an emergency disaster declaration,
Governor Abbott tried to put into words the enormity of what Texans were feeling.
Little kids.
off at camp, campers alongside the river,
people that I know of who went into harm's way to try to save the lives of others.
So many people have been swept up into an extraordinary catastrophe.
And know this, we remain in a search and rescue posture right now.
They will continue in the darkness of night.
They will be taking place when the sun rises in the morning.
They will be nonstop.
The sudden and severe deterioration in local weather conditions hit as Americans were enjoying the 4th of July public holiday,
which celebrates the country's independence from Britain.
In Kerrville, a city of about 25,000 people,
which the river runs through, it had a firework display planned for Friday evening.