Desperate search for two dozen missing girls after Texas floods kill at least 24
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The destructive force of the fast-rising waters just before dawn Friday washed out homes and swept away vehicles. There were hundreds of rescues around Kerr County, including at least 167 by helicopter, authorities said.
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The total number of missing was not known, but the sheriff said between 23 and 25 of them were girls who had been attending Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp along the river.
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On social media, parents and families posted desperate pleas for information about loved ones caught in the flood zone.
'The camp was completely destroyed,' said Elinor Lester, 13, one of hundreds of campers at Camp Mystic. 'A helicopter landed and started taking people away. It was really scary.'
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She said a raging storm woke up her cabin around 1:30 a.m. Friday, and when rescuers arrived, they tied a rope for the girls to hold as the children in her cabin walked across a bridge with floodwaters whipping around the calves and knees.
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The flooding in the middle of the night on the Fourth of July holiday caught many residents, campers and officials by surprise. Officials defended their preparations for severe weather and their response but said they had not expected such an intense downpour that was, in effect, the equivalent of months' worth of rain for the area.
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One National Weather Service forecast this week had called for only between 76 to 152 millimetres of rain, said Nim Kidd, the chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management.
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'It did not predict the amount of rain that we saw,' he said.
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A river gauge at Hunt recorded a 6.7 metres rise in about two hours, according to Bob Fogarty, meteorologist with the National Weather Service's Austin/San Antonio office. The gauge failed after recording a level of 9 metres.
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'The water's moving so fast, you're not going to recognize how bad it is until it's on top of you,' Fogarty said.
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On the Kerr County sheriff's office Facebook page, people posted pictures of loved ones and begged for help finding them.
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At least 400 people were on the ground helping in the response, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said. Nine rescue teams, 14 helicopters and 12 drones were being used, with some people being rescued from trees.
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Globe and Mail
2 hours ago
- Globe and Mail
At least 32 dead in Texas floods, search for missing persons continues
Rescuers scoured flooded riverbanks littered with mangled trees Saturday and turned over rocks in the search for more than two dozen children from a girls' camp and many others missing after a wall of water blasted down a river in the Texas Hill Country. The storm killed at least 32 people, including 14 children. Some 36 hours after the floods, authorities have still not given a number of how many people in total are still missing beyond the 27 children from Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp along the river. The destructive fast-moving waters rose eight metres in just 45 minutes before daybreak Friday, washing away homes and vehicles. The danger was not over as torrential rains continued pounding communities outside San Antonio on Saturday and flash flood warnings and watches remained in effect. Searchers used helicopters, boats and drones to look for victims and to rescue stranded people in trees and from camps isolated by washed-out roads. 'We will not stop until we find everyone who is missing,' Nim Kidd, chief of Texas Department of Emergency Management, said at a press conference Saturday afternoon. Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said the bodies of 32 people had been recovered so far, of them 18 adults and 14 children. Authorities were coming under growing scrutiny Saturday over whether the camps and residents in places long vulnerable to flooding received proper warning and whether enough preparations were made. The hills along the Guadalupe River in central Texas are dotted with century-old youth camps and campgrounds where generations of families have come to swim and enjoy the outdoors. The area is especially popular around the July Fourth holiday, making it more difficult to know how many are missing. 'We don't even want to begin to estimate at this time,' said City Manager Dalton Rice said on Saturday morning. 'The camp was completely destroyed,' said Elinor Lester, 13, one of hundreds of campers. 'A helicopter landed and started taking people away. It was really scary.' A raging storm fuelled by incredible amounts of moisture woke up her cabin just after midnight Friday, and when rescuers arrived, they tied a rope for the girls to hold as they walked across a bridge with water whipping around their legs, she said. Frantic parents and families posted photos of missing loved ones and pleas for information. On Saturday, the camp was mostly deserted. Helicopters roared above as a few people looked at the damage, including a pickup truck tossed onto its side and a building missing its entire front wall. Among those confirmed dead were an eight-year-old girl from Mountain Brook, Alabama, who was staying at Camp Mystic, and the director of another camp just up the road. The flooding in the middle of the night caught many residents, campers and officials by surprise in the Hill Country, which sits northwest of San Antonio. AccuWeather said the private forecasting company and the National Weather Service sent warnings about potential flash flooding hours before the devastation. 'These warnings should have provided officials with ample time to evacuate camps such as Camp Mystic and get people to safety,' AccuWeather said in a statement that called the Hill Country one of the most flash-flood-prone areas of the U.S. because of its terrain and many water crossings. Officials defended their actions while saying they had not expected such an intense downpour that was the equivalent of months' worth of rain for the area. One National Weather Service forecast earlier in the week 'did not predict the amount of rain that we saw,' said Nim Kidd, chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management. Search crews were facing harsh conditions while 'looking in every possible location,' Rice said. Authorities said about 850 people had been rescued. U.S. Coast Guard helicopters were flying in to assist. One reunification centre at an elementary school was mostly quiet Saturday after taking in hundreds of evacuees the day before. 'We still have people coming here looking for their loved ones. We've had a little success, but not much,' said Bobby Templeton, superintendent of Ingram Independent School District. President Donald Trump said Saturday that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was travelling to Texas and his administration was working with officials on the ground. 'Melania and I are praying for all of the families impacted by this horrible tragedy,' Trump said in a statement on his social media network. In Ingram, Erin Burgess woke to thunder and rain in the middle of the night Friday. Just 20 minutes later, water was pouring into her home, she said. She described an agonizing hour clinging to a tree with her teenage son. 'My son and I floated to a tree where we hung onto it, and my boyfriend and my dog floated away. He was lost for a while, but we found them,' she said. Barry Adelman said water pushed everyone in his three-story house into the attic, including his 94-year-old grandmother and 9-year-old grandson. 'I was having to look at my grandson in the face and tell him everything was going to be OK, but inside I was scared to death,' he said. Local resident know it as 'flash flood alley.' 'When it rains, water doesn't soak into the soil,' said Austin Dickson, CEO of the Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country, which was collecting donations. 'It rushes down the hill.' The forecast for the weekend had called for rain, with a flood watch upgraded to a warning overnight Friday for at least 30,000 people. Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said the potential for heavy rain and flooding covered a large area. 'Everything was done to give them a heads up that you could have heavy rain, and we're not exactly sure where it's going to land,' Patrick said. 'Obviously as it got dark last night, we got into the wee morning of the hours, that's when the storm started to zero in.' Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly, the county's chief elected official, said: 'We do not have a warning system.' When pushed on why more precautions weren't taken, Kelly said no one knew this kind of flood was coming. The slow-moving storm is bringing more rain Saturday, with the potential for pockets of heavy downpours and more flooding, said Jason Runyen, of the National Weather Service. The threat could linger overnight and into Sunday morning, he said.
CBC
8 hours ago
- CBC
Search continues for about 2 dozen girls at Texas summer camp after flooding kills at least 27
The search continued Saturday for survivors after a rainstorm sent water spilling out of the Guadalupe River in Texas, sweeping away a girls' summer camp, killing at least 27 people, including nine children, and leaving another two dozen missing. The destructive force of the fast-rising waters just before dawn Friday washed out homes and swept away vehicles. There were hundreds of rescues around Kerr County, including at least 167 by helicopter, authorities said. The total number of missing people was not known, but the sheriff said between 23 and 25 of them were girls who had been attending Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp along the river. At a news conference late Friday, Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said it's been confirmed that 27 people were killed. Authorities said 237 people were rescued. On social media, parents and families posted desperate pleas for information about loved ones caught in the flood zone. "The camp was completely destroyed," said Elinor Lester, 13, one of hundreds of campers at Camp Mystic. "A helicopter landed and started taking people away. It was really scary." She said a raging storm woke up her cabin around 1:30 a.m. local time Friday. Rescuers tied a rope for the girls to hold as the children in her cabin walked across a bridge with floodwaters whipping around the calves and knees. The flooding in the middle of the night on the Fourth of July holiday caught many residents, campers and officials by surprise. The Texas Hill Country, northwest of San Antonio, is a popular destination for camping and swimming, especially around the summer holiday. AccuWeather said the private forecasting company and the National Weather Service sent warnings about potential flash flooding hours before the devastation. "These warnings should have provided officials with ample time to evacuate camps such as Camp Mystic and get people to safety," AccuWeather said in a statement, adding the Texas Hill County is one of the most flash-flood-prone areas of the U.S. because of its terrain and many water crossings. Officials defended their actions Friday, saying they had not expected such an intense downpour that was the equivalent to months' worth of rain for the area. Helicopters, drones used in search for missing A river gauge at Hunt recorded 6.7 metres in about two hours, according to Bob Fogarty, meteorologist with the National Weather Service's Austin/San Antonio office. The gauge failed after recording a level of 9 metres. "The water's moving so fast, you're not going to recognize how bad it is until it's on top of you," Fogarty said. On the Facebook page of the Kerr County sheriff's office, people posted pictures of loved ones and begged for help finding them. At least 400 people were on the ground helping in the response, Texas Lt.-Gov. Dan Patrick said. Nine rescue teams, 14 helicopters and 12 drones were being used; some people being rescued from trees. In Ingram, Erin Burgess woke to thunder and rain at 3:30 a.m. Just 20 minutes later, water was pouring into her home directly across from the river, she said. She described an agonizing hour clinging to a tree and waiting for the water to recede enough so they could walk up the hill to a neighbour's home. "My son and I floated to a tree where we hung onto it, and my boyfriend and my dog floated away. He was lost for a while, but we found them." Of her 19-year-old son, Burgess said: "Thankfully he's over 6 feet tall. That's the only thing that saved me, was hanging on to him." Matthew Stone, 44, of Kerrville, said police came knocking on doors at 5:30 a.m. but he had received no warning on his phone. "We got no emergency alert. There was nothing," Stone said. Then, "a pitch black wall of death." 'I was scared to death' At a reunification centre set up in Ingram, families cried and cheered as loved ones got off vehicles loaded with evacuees. Two soldiers carried an older woman who could not get down a ladder. Behind her, a woman in a soiled T-shirt and shorts clutched a small white dog. Later, a girl in a white "Camp Mystic" T-shirt and white socks stood in a puddle, sobbing in her mother's arms. Barry Adelman, 54, said water pushed everyone in his three-story house into the attic, including his 94-year-old grandmother and nine-year-old grandson. The water started coming through the attic floor before finally receding. "I was horrified," he said. "I was having to look at my grandson in the face and tell him everything was going to be OK, but inside I was scared to death." The forecast had called for rain, with a flood watch upgraded to a warning overnight for at least 30,000 people. But totals in some places exceeded expectations, Fogarty said. Patrick noted the potential for heavy rain and flooding covered a large area. "Everything was done to give them a heads-up that you could have heavy rain, and we're not exactly sure where it's going to land," Patrick said. "Obviously as it got dark last night, we got into the wee morning of the hours — that's when the storm started to zero in." Asked about how people were notified in Kerr County so that they could get to safety, Judge Rob Kelly, the county's chief elected official, said: "We do not have a warning system." When reporters pushed on why more precautions weren't taken, Kelly said: "Rest assured, no one knew this kind of flood was coming." Popular tourism area prone to flooding The area is known as "flash flood alley" because of the hills' thin layer of soil, said Austin Dickson, CEO of the Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country, which was collecting donations to help non-profits responding to the disaster. "When it rains, water doesn't soak into the soil," Dickson said. "It rushes down the hill." River tourism industry is a key part of the Hill Country economy. Well-known, century-old summer camps bring in kids from all over the country, Dickson said.
CTV News
8 hours ago
- CTV News
Devastation after widespread flooding hits Texas
Watch Latest on search and rescue that's underway in Texas following widespread flooding that killed at least 24 people.
