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Texas flash flooding: At least 51 people killed and 27 girls from camp still missing

Texas flash flooding: At least 51 people killed and 27 girls from camp still missing

Sky News2 days ago
Watch: Texas searches for missing children
Rescue teams in Texas are searching for 27 girls missing from Camp Mystic, with crews scouring a wide area by helicopter.
Searches have been hampered by the floods moving debris, and those caught up in it, over large distances.
Good afternoon
We are returning to our live coverage of the flash flooding in Texas, which has led to the deaths of at least 51 people.
A desperate rescue mission is continuing to find the 27 children who went missing from a girls' church camp along the Guadalupe River, which was overwhelmed by heavy rain on Friday morning.
Authorities have not said how many other people are missing.
Rescuers in Texas, where it is now approaching 8am, are scouring a devastated landscape of mangled trees and overturned cars left in the wake of destructive, fast-moving water.
We'll be bringing you all the latest throughout the day.
We're pausing our live coverage
We are pausing our live coverage on the devastating flash floods in Texas - thank you for following along.
Rescued girl 'was on a mattress for hours'
Texas Congressman Chip Roy has said that a girl was stuck on a mattress for hours before she was rescued.
"One of my kids' schoolmates was missing. She was on a mattress for two to three hours in the middle of the night. She was reunited with her mom, and that's wonderful," he told reporters at a news conference.
"These are the kind of blessings we should be celebrating while also mourning the loss of life as we identify those who didn't make it."
Texas governor declares 'day of prayer'
Greg Abbott has asked Texans to "join me in prayer" for those affected by the devastating floods.
Two sisters died in Kerr County flooding, with grandparents still missing - reports
Blair, 13, and Brooke Harber, 11, have died after going missing during the flash floods in Kerr County, their father told CNN.
RJ Harber said his parents, Charlene and Mike Harber, are still missing, but he believes that they are also dead.
Blair was a "gifted student and had a generous kind heart", while her sister Brooke "was like a light in any room, people gravitated to her and she made them laugh and enjoy the moment", their father said.
In pictures: Campers reunited with their families
Campers and staff from one of the camps on the Guadalupe River, Camp Waldemar, have been reunited with their families.
People were seen embracing their loved ones, with some shedding tears, at a reunification area.
Unknown number of people missing
Kerrville city manager Dalton Rice said there could be more people missing in the region than the 27 girls unaccounted for from Camp Mystic.
"We are kind of looking at this in two ways, called the known missing, which is the 27... We will not put a number on the other side because we just don't know," he said at a news conference.
He said "hundreds" have been rescued from campsites around the Guadalupe River so far, and searches are ongoing.
Authorities in Travis County said at least 13 people are missing.
In Burnet County, a firefighter was among the missing after he was swept away by floodwaters while responding to a rescue, county Emergency Management Coordinator Derek Marchio said.
Some of the deadliest floods to hit the US in the last 25 years
Flooding causes an average of more than 125 deaths a year, according to the National Weather Service.
Here's some of the most deadly flooding to have occurred in the last 25 years...
Hurricane Helene, 2024
Helene struck Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas, Tennessee and Virginia in September 2024. The storm caused about 250 deaths, according to the National Weather Service.
Kentucky, 2022
Raging floodwaters in eastern Kentucky led to 45 deaths in late July.
The floods destroyed homes and businesses and caused significant damage to schools, roads, bridges and water systems.
Tennessee, 2021
Twenty people were killed when creeks near the small Middle Tennessee town of Waverly overflowed, following 43cm of rainfall in less than 24 hours.
Hurricane Harvey, 2017
Harvey killed at least 68 people when it swept into Texas in August 2017.
All but three of the Harvey deaths were directly attributed to freshwater flooding, which damaged more than 300,000 structures and caused an estimated $125 billion in damage.
West Virginia, 2016
It began as a rainstorm that seemed minor, but turned into a catastrophe that trapped dozens of people, ultimately killing 23 in the state.
Superstorm Sandy, 2012
Sandy was a freak combination of a hurricane and other storms that struck New York and the surrounding areas in October 2012. It killed 147 people.
Hurricane Katrina, 2005
This was the deadliest flood event in the past 25 years.
Katrina caused nearly 1,400 deaths and an estimated $200 billion in damages, with people having to be rescued by boat and helicopter from rooftops.
Death toll rises to 51
At least 43 people have been killed in the flash flooding in Kerr County, Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said at a news conference.
This includes at least 15 children and 28 adults, with five children and 12 adults pending identification.
In nearby Kendall County, one person has died.
At least four people were killed in Travis County, while at least two people died in Burnet County.
A 62-year-old woman died in the city of San Angelo in Tom Green County. Tanya Burwick's body was found "several blocks" from her flooded car, local police said in a statement.
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