Hurricane Pamela made landfall in South Texas on October 13th and passed through its most violent stage by the 14th. Heavy rainfall and winds hit San Antonio on Wednesday, and according to AccuWeather, it also led to a water rescue in the area.
Hurricane Pamela was originally a tropical depression off the coast of southwest Mexico. The storm strengthened before hitting Estacion Dimas in Mexico. AccuWeather radar data shows upwards of 10 inches of rain south of Gonzales, Texas. The amount of rain seen in San Antonio, around 3.5 inches, is just below the city’s average for the entire month.
Outside of San Antonio, in St. Hedwig, a woman and a young girl tragically passed away after a flash flood swept cars into a nearby river, ABC reports. The woman, 52, and the child, 5, fell into a river when the floodwaters pushed them off a bridge. Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar gave heartfelt condolences through ABC. “There’s nothing more heartbreaking than to see the body of a 5-year-old pulled out of a car,” Salazar told interviewers. “She was still wearing her backpack, it just doesn’t get any worse than that.” The child and the woman were in two separate vehicles at the time of the flood.
The Sheriff’s Department also stated that they rescued five other individuals from vehicles.
Bill Wadell, a broadcaster for AccuWeather, said children were “clinging to trees” as flood water swept through. In addition, several major roadways in Bexar County were flooded on Tuesday and Wednesday.
According to weather experts, it is extremely rare for hurricanes to originate in the Pacific and make landfall in Texas. Most hurricanes form in the Atlantic, south of Texas. AccuWeather Senior Vice President Jon Porter says that storms such as Pamela only happen “a few times every 75 years,” and can bring more severe flash flooding.