Search for missing girls as Texas flood death toll rises to 43
"We have recovered 43 deceased individuals in Kerr County. Among these who are deceased we have 28 adults and 15 children," said Kerr Country Sheriff Larry Leitha.
Leitha earlier put the number of evacuated people at 850, including eight reported injured.
Addressing a press conference, Texas Governor Greg Abbott said he was expanding a state disaster declaration and was requesting additional federal resources from US President Donald Trump.
Texas Department of Emergency Management chief Nim Kidd said air, ground and water-based crews were scouring the length of the Guadalupe River for survivors and the bodies of the dead.
"We will continue the search until all those who are missing are found," he said.
The flooding began Friday -- the start of the fourth of July holiday weekend -- as months' worth of rain fell in a matter of hours, causing the Guadalupe River to rise by 26 feet (eight meters) in 45 minutes.
The National Weather Service (NWS) warned that more rain was forecast, and that "excessive runoff may result in flooding of rivers, creeks, streams, and other low-lying and flood-prone locations."
In Kerrville on Saturday, the usually calm Guadalupe was flowing fast, its murky waters filled with debris.
"The water reached the top of the trees. About 10 meters or so," said local resident Gerardo Martinez, 61. "Cars, whole houses were going down the river."
Flash floods, which occur when the ground is unable to absorb torrential rainfall, are not unusual.
But scientists say that in recent years human-driven climate change has made extreme weather events like floods, droughts and heat waves more frequent and more intense.
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Mint
36 minutes ago
- Mint
Donald Trump vows to upgrade outdated weather warning system that failed to warn Texas flood risk, Kristi Noem says
US President Donald Trump is pledging to modernize America's outdated weather warning systems after catastrophic floods killed at least 43 people, including 15 children, across Central Texas early Friday morning. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the administration was committed to fixing what she described as 'ancient' forecasting technology that failed to provide timely warnings before the deadly flooding. 'That is one of the reasons that, when President Trump took office, he said he wanted to fix and is currently upgrading the technology,' Noem said at a Saturday news conference alongside state officials. 'We know that everybody wants more warning time, and that's why we're working to upgrade the technologies that have been neglected for far too long,' she added. However, she did not announce a timeline for completing the improvements. The calls for modernisation come even as the Trump administration has dramatically reduced staffing at the agencies responsible for forecasting and climate research. Earlier this year, Senator Maria Cantwell revealed that at least 880 employees were cut from NOAA, which oversees the National Weather Service and the critical observational networks that feed data to forecasters. Officials are now facing mounting criticism over the late warnings that left families little time to escape the rising waters. Noem acknowledged that the flood exposed glaring weaknesses in federal weather alerts. 'We needed to renew this ancient system that has been left in place with the federal government for many, many years, and that is the reforms that are ongoing there,' she said. She cited her time as a governor and congresswoman to underscore how unpredictable weather can be, but emphasized that communities deserve better notice. 'The weather is extremely difficult to predict,' Noem insisted. 'But also … the National Weather Service, over the years at times, has done well and at times, we have all wanted more time and more warning.' Although a flood watch was issued before the disaster, Noem described it as a 'moderate' alert that did not anticipate the system stalling over the area and dumping historic rainfall. 'When the [weather] system came over the area, it stalled,' she explained. 'It was much more water, much like [what] we experienced during [Hurricane] Harvey… it stopped right here and dumped unprecedented amounts of rain that caused a flooding event like this.' In Kerr County alone, the Guadalupe River rose 26 feet in just 45 minutes, sweeping away homes, cars, and entire camps. One of the hardest-hit locations was Camp Mystic, an all-girls Christian camp in Hunt, Texas. Floodwaters destroyed cabins and left dozens of children missing. As of Sunday afternoon, 27 girls still had not been located. Search teams using helicopters, boats, and drones continued combing debris fields and overturned vehicles stretching for miles. 'I do carry your concerns back to the federal government, to President Trump, and we will do all we can to fix those kinds of things that may have felt like a failure to you and to your community members,' Noem told reporters. Authorities warned that the danger was not over, as additional rain continued to pound the region and flash flood watches remained in effect. 'Searchers are working tirelessly to find survivors,' officials said in a statement Saturday. 'This is a historic disaster, and recovery will take time.' Noem concluded by stressing the urgency of updating early warning systems to protect families. 'We are shattered by this loss, and we are committed to doing everything we can to make sure it never happens again,' she said.
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Business Standard
3 hours ago
- Business Standard
Texas officials face scrutiny over response to catastrophic flooding
Before heading to bed before the Fourth of July holiday, Christopher Flowers checked the weather while staying at a friend's house along the Guadalupe River. Nothing in the forecast alarmed him. Hours later, he was rushing to safety: He woke up in darkness to electrical sockets popping and ankle-deep water. Quickly, his family scrambled nine people into the attic. Phones buzzed with alerts, Flowers recalled Saturday, but he did not remember when in the chaos they started. What they need is some kind of external system, like a tornado warning that tells people to get out now, Flowers, 44, said. The destructive fast-moving waters that began before sunrise Friday in the Texas Hill Country killed at least 43 people in Kerr County, authorities said Saturday, and an unknown number of people remained missing. Those still unaccounted for included 27 girls from Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp along a river in Kerr County where most of the dead were recovered. But as authorities launch one of the largest search-and-rescue efforts in recent Texas history, they have come under intensifying scrutiny over preparations and why residents and youth summer camps that are dotted along the river were not alerted sooner or told to evacuate. The National Weather Service sent out a series of flash flood warnings in the early hours Friday before issuing flash flood emergencies a rare alert notifying of imminent danger. Local officials have insisted that no one saw the flood potential coming and have defended their actions. There's going to be a lot of finger-pointing, a lot of second-guessing and Monday morning quarterbacking, said Republican US Rep Chip Roy, whose district includes Kerr County. There's a lot of people saying why' and how,' and I understand that. When the warnings began An initial flood watch which generally urges residents to be weather-aware was issued by the local National Weather Service office at 1:18 pm Thursday. It predicted between12.7 to 17.8 centimetres of rain. Weather messaging from the office, including automated alerts delivered to mobile phones to people in threatened areas, grew increasingly ominous in the early morning hours of Friday, urging people to move to higher ground and evacuate flood-prone areas, said Jason Runyen, a meteorologist in the National Weather Service office. At 4:03 am, the office issued an urgent warning that raised the potential of catastrophic damage and a severe threat to human life. Jonathan Porter, the chief meteorologist at AccuWeather, a private weather forecasting company that uses National Weather Service data, said it appeared evacuations and other proactive measures could have been undertaken to reduce the risk of fatalities. People, businesses, and governments should take action based on Flash Flood Warnings that are issued, regardless of the rainfall amounts that have occurred or are forecast, Porter said in a statement. Officials say they didn't expect this Local officials have said they had not expected such an intense downpour that was the equivalent of months' worth of rain for the area. We know we get rains. We know the river rises, said Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly, the county's top elected official. But nobody saw this coming. Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice said he was jogging along the river early in the morning and didn't notice any problems at 4 am A little over an hour later, at 5:20 am, the water level had risen dramatically and we almost weren't able to get out of the park, he said. Rice also noted that the public can become desensitized to too many weather warnings. No county flood warning system Kelly said the county considered a flood warning system along the river that would have functioned like a tornado warning siren about six or seven years ago, before he was elected, but that the idea never got off the ground because of the expense. We've looked into it before The public reeled at the cost, Kelly said. He said he didn't know what kind of safety and evacuation plans the camps may have had. What I do know is the flood hit the camp first, and it came in the middle of the night. I don't know where the kids were," he said. "I don't know what kind of alarm systems they had. That will come out in time." US Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said Saturday it was difficult for forecasters to predict just how much rain would fall. She said the Trump administration would make it a priority to upgrade National Weather Service technology used to deliver warnings. We know that everyone wants more warning time, and that's why we're working to upgrade the technology that's been neglected for far too long to make sure families have as much advance notice as possible, Noem said during a press conference with state and federal leaders. Weather service had extra staffers The National Weather Service office in New Braunfels, which delivers forecasts for Austin, San Antonio and the surrounding areas, had extra staff on duty during the storms, Runyen said. Where the office would typically have two forecasters on duty during clear weather, they had up to five on staff. There were extra people in here that night, and that's typical in every weather service office you staff up for an event and bring people in on overtime and hold people over, Runyen said. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
NDTV
7 hours ago
- NDTV
Over 50 Killed, Dozens Missing, Drone Video Shows Texas Flood Destruction
Texas: Multiple flash flood warnings remained in place across central Texas in the United States, after water surged through communities, with the Guadalupe River rising by 26 feet (eight meters) in just 45 minutes. Rescuers searched Saturday for 27 missing girls who were swept away by devastating floods in Central Texas, United States, as over 50 people died, with the likelihood of finding more survivors appearing to diminish. The worst affected by torrential rains was Texas's Kerr County, where 43 people, including 15 children, died, followed by Travis County, where four people died. Two people also died in Burnet County, while another died in Tom Green County. In Kerr County, the waterways gorged by thunderstorms tore through a Christian girls' camp--where hundreds were staying-- trapping families inside trailer homes and sweeping people into the currents. According to authorities, some two dozen campers remained unaccounted for, and there was "no cap" to the broader tally of the missing. Rescuers Race Against Time Authorities said the search operations were now a race against time, but they refused to relinquish hope of finding more survivors. Texas Department of Emergency Management chief Nim Kidd said air, ground and water-based crews were scouring the length of the Guadalupe River for survivors and the bodies of the dead."We will continue the search until all those who are missing are found," he said. Massive Losses Videos from Texas posted on social media showed bare concrete platforms on lands where houses used to stand, with piles of rubble lining the banks of the river. Flood Waters devastate the Guadalupe River area in Texas as emergency crews continue search and rescue operations. #TexasFlood #Texas — Dr. Kiran J Patel (@Drkiranjpatel) July 6, 2025 Rescuers lifted people from rooftops and trees, sometimes forming human chains to fetch people from the floodwater, local media reported. Capsized RVs drift in Texas fatal floods — RT (@RT_com) July 6, 2025 Call For More Resources Texas Governor Greg Abbott said he was expanding a state disaster declaration and was requesting additional federal resources from President Donald Trump. The President has previously outlined plans to scale back the federal government's role in responding to natural disasters, leaving states to shoulder more of the burden themselves. ❗️UPDATE: 37 now DEAD in Texas floods — AP — RT (@RT_com) July 5, 2025 But Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Trump would honour that request. President Donald Trump said he and his wife, Melania, were praying for the victims. "Our Brave First Responders are on site doing what they do best," he said on social media. Inaccurate Warning The flooding began Friday -- the start of the Fourth of July holiday weekend -- as months' worth of rain fell in a matter of hours. Kristi Noem said a "moderate" flood watch issued on Thursday by the National Weather Service had not accurately predicted the extreme rainfall and said the Trump administration was working to upgrade the system. Timelapse flooding of the Llano River on July 4th — Rob Dew (@DewsNewz) July 5, 2025 The administration has cut thousands of jobs from the National Weather Service's parent agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, leaving many weather offices understaffed, said former NOAA director Rick Spinrad. He said he did not know if those staff cuts factored into the lack of advance warning for the extreme Texas flooding, but said they would inevitably degrade the agency's ability to deliver accurate and timely forecasts. "People's ability to prepare for these storms will be compromised. It undoubtedly means that additional lives will be lost and probably more property damage," he said. More Rains Predicted The National Weather Service (NWS) warned of more rain in its forecast, saying that "excessive runoff may result in flooding of rivers, creeks, streams, and other low-lying and flood-prone locations." A helicopter passes in the distance after a deadly flood in Kerrville, Texas. Photo Credit: Reuters In Kerrville on Saturday, the usually calm Guadalupe was flowing fast, its murky waters filled with debris. "The water reached the top of the trees. About 10 meters or so," said resident Gerardo Martinez, 61. "Cars, whole houses were going down the river." Flash floods, which occur when the ground is unable to absorb torrential rainfall, are not unusual. But scientists say that in recent years, human-driven climate change has made extreme weather events such as floods, droughts and heatwaves more frequent and more intense.
