Timelapse shows moment when Texas river completely floods over in just 10 minutes

Last July, Texas residents were shocked when the Llano River flooded completely in a span of just 10 minutes.

The dramatic situation was captured in a video shared on Instagram by weather news source AccuWeather (@accuweather).

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A post shared by AccuWeather (@accuweather)

"Timelapse video shows the Llano River in Texas flooding completely in just 10 minutes on July 4," the video caption read. 

"Catastrophic flooding has claimed at least 68 lives, including 21 children."

In the sped-up footage, a small crowd in Kingsland, Texas, was seen on a bridge near the river. 

Floodwaters rapidly rose to meet the bridge, forcing the group to move to the bank as the structure was overtopped.

The group continued moving up the road as the waters relentlessly advanced, while cars arrived and departed in the background. 

Eventually, the floodwaters rose nearly to the top of a chain barrier blocking the road.

The flood progressed quickly, and viewers were shocked.

"How is this possible to have it raised this fast?" one commenter asked. "Seems strange."

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"That's why it's called flash flooding," another user replied. "It happens extremely quickly."

Commenters explained that in some areas, the ground wasn't absorbent enough to handle a large volume of water moving so quickly, so it traveled over the ground instead of sinking into it.

This problem is far more likely to occur during extreme weather events, when an area receives significantly more precipitation than usual. 

Unfortunately, as air pollution and human activity cause temperatures to rise, extreme weather becomes more frequent, more violent, and deadlier — as the tragedy this community experienced showed.

Research has indicated that many Americans currently live on floodplains, meaning many remain at risk of dangerous situations like the one AccuWeather highlighted. 

Increased rates and severity of flooding are a growing problem in many countries, including Kenya.

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