Heartbreaking Videos Show Horses Struggling to Stay Above Quickly Rising Texas Flood Waters
The owner of Cypress Trails Equestrians says she's still missing 5 horses.
— -- Dramatic videos capture the moments in which struggling horses fought to keep their heads above fast-rising waters as deadly flooding swept through the Houston, Texas, area Monday.
Cypress Trails Equestrians owner Darolyn Butler has 75 horses, and she told ABC News today that 69 or 70 of them escaped Monday when creek waters quickly rose 25 or 27 feet over the normal level.
The videos show some of Butler's horses nearly completely submerged, with just their heads sticking out of the water.
"It was really chaotic," Butler said, adding that many volunteers came to help. Videos also show rescuers wading through the creek to come to the animals' aid.
Butler said one of her horses died after getting tangled in a fence and drowning.
"Most of the horses that were evacuated to the south got to a neighboring farm safely," she said. "Most of what you see [in the videos] were horses in the barn we were trying to move across the currents with boats ... or [horses] we thought had gone to a neighboring ranch [but were] trying to get back home, which is normal with horses."
"Two we saw get into the river and be swept away," Butler said. "We're hoping they managed to get out down the stream somewhere else."
She's still missing five horses as of this morning.
The torrential rains and severe flooding swept through the Houston area Monday, leaving at least six people dead, hundreds displaced and thousands more without power, authorities said.
The Buffalo Bayou rose more than 30 feet in less than 18 hours, swamping streets and neighborhoods.
Houston schools are closed today for the second day in a row.
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