Texas police urged ‘visit to sightseeing’ to escape flood recovery areas

The Texas police say that the “scenic spot” residents are making them difficult for them to complete their defense and recovery missions in view of the deadly flash floods this week.

Ker County Sheriff Larry Litha commented during a Wednesday press conference, urged to not be involved in recovery efforts.

“Our first respondents are trying to go to places to do their work,” he said. “And people are coming here from outside the community, and people within the community, they want to travel to sightseeing, look at the river, look at the flood damage – it is making our work very difficult.”

He said, “We ask people to give space to work.”

Texas survivors from the floods share harsh stories, still the search for the missing people continues

Litha says that the authorities are now using heavy machinery to search through dense piles of debris that are collected in “obstacles” at various places with flood rivers and creeks.

He also urged the residents who have large piles of debris on their property, until the first responders come to use heavy machinery to remove them.

“It is possible that the debris piles up,” Litha said. “We don’t want to bother it. Please give us a call … and tell us that you have found a debris heap that needs to be checked before starting that level of clean-up.

Officials said that 95 deaths in Ker County alone have been confirmed, including 59 adults and 36 children. Among them, 14 and 13 are unknown respectively.

Officials said 161 people still report the disappearance in Ker County, and urged the residents who could re -join the missing loved ones to inform the authorities.

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Officials said some methods of search – such as horse back or ATV patrol – are not currently viable due to dangerous conditions. Many low water crossings and bridges require repair, before the emergency team can fully reach all affected places.

Fox News’ Stephanie Price contributed to this report