The body of a child who was dragged away by the swift currents was recovered Saturday evening.
The drownings happened
after four inches of rain fell over five hours in North Carolina's
Piedmont region, prompting officials to declare a state of emergency in
Catawba County.
First responders stayed
busy racing to save people stuck in fast-moving waters and closed dozens
of roads Saturday in the region due to major flooding.
Delilah Lovett, 10, of
Charlotte and Juan Alberdi, 48, of Huntersville, North Carolina --
members of different families who were visiting the area together --
were both swimming in what is known as the "bathtub" on Wilson's Creek
in Caldwell County around 6:15 p.m. Saturday, the Caldwell County
Sheriff's Department said.
Rain, which had already
stopped, raised Wilson Creek two feet above normal levels and created
"very swift currents," according to a statement from the sheriff's
department.
Kayakers found Delilah's body nearly an hour after she disappeared, it said.
"Over 60 rescue personnel
including fire, law enforcement and rescue crews are searching a
10-mile stretch of Wilson's Creek for Alberdi," the news release said
Sunday afternoon.
Catawba County officials
reported 10 swiftwater rescues for residents needing help getting out of
their homes and vehicles Satuday afternoon, said Mark Pettit, an
emergency official in the county.
Some 52 roads in the
inland county had been closed at that point, six of which might not see
any traffic for as long as three months, according to Pettit.
Lincoln County -- which
is just south of Catawba County and about 35 miles northwest of
Charlotte -- saw 8 to 10 inches of rain in a 12-hour period, county
emergency management spokesman Dion Burleson said.
First responders had
done as many as five rescues by late Saturday afternoon, Burleson said,
though things appeared to be on the upswing. The spokesman said the
water rescue operation had been demobilized because waters were
receding.
source: CNN
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