Trump confirms he will travel to Texas on Friday after fatal flooding
'That was a terrible event, terrible event,' Trump said. 'Texas was just absolutely, so badly hurt by something that was a big surprise late in the evening.'
It's not clear yet where Trump will visit. The floods occurred along Texas's Guadalupe River, roughly an hour's drive northwest of San Antonio. Torrential rain from Thursday to early Friday morning resulted in deadly flash floods in towns such as Kerrville, Ingram, and Hunt, along with summer camps including Camp Mystic.
Democrats have pointed to Trump administration cuts to the National Weather Service as a potential reason why flood victims did not receive better warnings. The New York Times has reported that local officials had avoided installing more sophisticated warning systems due to cost and that several key nearby Weather Service offices were vacant at the time, although some openings predated the current administration.
The White House said Monday that blaming Trump for the floods was a 'depraved lie.'
Trump signed a disaster declaration Sunday, freeing up federal funds and programs to assist with the response.
More rain was scheduled to hit the region Monday. The National Service extended its flood watch through Monday night for much of central Texas.
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Los Angeles Times
15 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
Hope of finding Texas flood survivors dims as search efforts go on
KERRVILLE, Texas — Hope of finding survivors of the catastrophic flooding in Texas dimmed Tuesday, a day after the death toll surpassed 100, and crews kept up the search for people missing in the aftermath. The search efforts benefited from improving weather. The storms that battered the Hill Country for the past four days began to lighten up, although isolated pockets of heavy rain were still possible. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott planned to make another visit Tuesday to Camp Mystic, the century-old all-girls Christian summer camp where at least 27 campers and counselors died during the flash floods. Officials said Monday that 10 campers and one counselor have still not been found. A wall of water slammed into camps and homes along the edge of the Guadalupe River before daybreak Friday, pulling people out of their cabins, tents and trailers and dragging them for miles past floating tree trunks and cars. Some survivors were found clinging to trees. Questions are mounting about what, if any, actions local officials took to warn campers and residents who were spending the July Fourth holiday weekend in the scenic area long known to locals as 'flash flood alley.' At public briefings, officials in hard-hit Kerr County have deflected questions about what preparations and warnings were made as forecasters warned of life-threatening conditions. 'We definitely want to dive in and look at all those things,' Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice said Monday. 'We're looking forward to doing that once we can get the search and rescue complete.' Some camps were aware of the dangers and monitoring the weather. At least one moved several hundred campers to higher ground before the floods. But many were caught by surprise. Searchers have found the bodies of 84 people, including 28 children, in Kerr County, home to Camp Mystic and several other summer camps near the river, officials said. Nineteen deaths were reported in Travis, Burnet, Kendall, Tom Green and Williamson counties, local officials said. Among those confirmed dead were 8-year-old sisters from Dallas who were at Camp Mystic and a former soccer coach and his wife who were staying at a riverfront home. Their daughters were still missing. Elizabeth Lester, a mother of children who were at Camp Mystic and nearby Camp La Junta during the flood, said her young son had to swim out a cabin window to escape. Her daughter fled up the hillside as floodwaters whipped against her legs. Both survived. Search-and-rescue teams used heavy equipment to untangle trees and move large rocks as part of the massive search for missing people. Hundreds of volunteers have shown up to help with one of the largest rescue operations in Texas history. Piles of twisted trees sprinkled with mattresses, refrigerators and coolers littered the riverbanks. Vertuno, Lathan and Seewer write for the Associated Press. Vertuno reported from Austin, and Seewer reported from Toledo, Ohio. Contributing to this report were AP writers Safiyah Riddle in Montgomery, Ala.; Hannah Schoenbaum in Salt Lake City and Sophia Tareen in Chicago.
Chicago Tribune
an hour ago
- Chicago Tribune
Hope of finding Texas flood survivors dims as search efforts go on
KERRVILLE, Texas — Hope of finding survivors of the catastrophic flooding in Texas dimmed Tuesday, a day after the death toll surpassed 100, and crews kept up the search for people missing in the aftermath. The search efforts benefited from improving weather. The storms that battered the Hill Country for the past four days began to lighten up, although isolated pockets of heavy rain were still possible. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott planned to make another visit Tuesday to Camp Mystic, the century-old all-girls Christian summer camp where at least 27 campers and counselors died during the flash floods. Officials said Monday that 10 campers and one counselor have still not been found. A wall of water slammed into camps and homes along the edge of the Guadalupe River before daybreak Friday, pulling people out of their cabins, tents and trailers and dragging them for miles past floating tree trunks and cars. Some survivors were found clinging to trees. Questions are mounting about what, if any, actions local officials took to warn campers and residents who were spending the July Fourth holiday weekend in the scenic area long known to locals as 'flash flood alley.' At public briefings, officials in hard-hit Kerr County have deflected questions about what preparations and warnings were made as forecasters warned of life-threatening conditions. 'We definitely want to dive in and look at all those things,' Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice said Monday. 'We're looking forward to doing that once we can get the search and rescue complete.' Some camps were aware of the dangers and monitoring the weather. At least one moved several hundred campers to higher ground before the floods. But many were caught by surprise. Searchers have found the bodies of 84 people, including 28 children, in Kerr County, home to Camp Mystic and several other summer camps near the river, officials said. Nineteen deaths were reported in Travis, Burnet, Kendall, Tom Green and Williamson counties, local officials said. Among those confirmed dead were 8-year-old sisters from Dallas who were at Camp Mystic and a former soccer coach and his wife who were staying at a riverfront home. Their daughters were still missing. Elizabeth Lester, a mother of children who were at Camp Mystic and nearby Camp La Junta during the flood, said her young son had to swim out a cabin window to escape. Her daughter fled up the hillside as floodwaters whipped against her legs. Both survived. Search-and-rescue teams used heavy equipment to untangle trees and move large rocks as part of the massive search for missing people. Hundreds of volunteers have shown up to help with one of the largest rescue operations in Texas history. Piles of twisted trees sprinkled with mattresses, refrigerators and coolers littered the riverbanks.
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Coast Guard rescue swimmer saves nearly 200 from Texas floods in first mission
A U.S. Coast Guard rescue swimmer is being called an American hero after he rescued nearly 200 people from the deadly floods that took place in central Texas the weekend of July 4th. 'This was the first rescue mission of his career, and he was the only triage coordinator at the scene,' Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said Saturday on X. 'His selfless courage embodies the spirit and mission of the @USCG.' U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Scott Ruskan, an aviation survival technician 3rd class stationed in Corpus Christi, directly saved 165 people from rising floodwaters in Kerr County, said Noem. United States Coast Guard Rescue Swimmer and Petty Officer Scott Ruskin, directly saved an astonishing 165 victims in the devastating flooding in central was the first rescue mission of his career and he was the only triage coordinator at the Ruskin is… Texas floods cause devastation Over the weekend, storms inundated Texas with rain, leading to flash floods and at least 104 deaths, including at least 27 children and counselors at an all-girls Christian camp, Camp Mystic. The torrential rains caused the Guadalupe River to surge 26 feet in just 45 minutes, washing away homes, cars and entire campgrounds. In Kerr County, Texas, which was most impacted by the floods, at least 56 adults and 28 children were killed. Ruskan details his first rescue Ruskan was sent to Camp Mystic, where he found himself alone with close to 200 children who were "all scared, terrified, cold, having probably the worst day of their lives," Ruskan said in an interview with Good Morning America. 'I saw a huge crowd of about 200 kids at a campsite,' he said during an appearance on 'Fox & Friends' on the morning of July 5. 'We were like, 'Cool, that's where we're going to go and get as many people out as we can.'' This was Ruskan's first rescue mission, he said. "I really just relied on the training we get," said Ruskan. "Coast Guard rescue swimmers get some of the highest-level training in the world." Who is Petty Officer Scott Ruskan? Ruskan, who grew up in New Jersey, graduated from Rider University in 2021. Ruskan's LinkedIn page lists him as a rescue swimmer with the Coast Guard since 2022. His actions have drawn national attention as the region continues its recovery efforts. Julia is a trending reporter for USA TODAY. Connect with her on LinkedIn,X, Instagram and TikTok: @juliamariegz, or email her at jgomez@
