Photos show Texas floods and rescue efforts; one girls' camp said its director is among the dead
At least 27 people have died in the floods, and more than 20 children are missing from Camp Mystic.
The Heart O' the Hills, another camp, said its director had died in the floods.
At least 27 people have died after heavy rainfall caused flash flooding in parts of central Texas on Friday, authorities have said.
More than 20 children are also missing from Camp Mystic, a Christian girls' camp along the Guadalupe River, which Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said had risen 26 feet in 45 minutes as torrential rain battered the region.
The Heart O' the Hills, another girls' camp based along the river, said its director, Jane Ragsdale, had died in the floods.
"We have received word that Jane Ragsdale did not make it," it said in a statement posted to its website. "We are mourning the loss of a woman who influenced countless lives and was the definition of strong and powerful."
It added that the camp was not in session as the flooding hit, and that "most of those who were on camp at the time have been accounted for and are on high ground."
The National Weather Service said the Guadalupe River at Hunt hit its second-highest height on record on Friday.
The service said Saturday morning that rises were also beginning to occur on Lake Travis, and warned of "dangerous and life-threatening flooding and heavy rain" over Burnet, western Williamson, and northwestern Travis counties.
Here are some images showing the impact of the flooding and ongoing search and rescue efforts.
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New York Times
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Likelihood of Finding Texas Flood Survivors Fades as Death Toll Passes 100
Rescuers and volunteers continued to hack through fallen trees and piles of debris in search of flood survivors on Monday. But the chances of finding anyone alive, four days after surging waters began tearing through Central Texas, grew increasingly remote. Those who survive being swept away in a violent flood are typically found rapidly, even if it is miles from where they went into the water, said Chris Boyer, the executive director of the National Association for Search and Rescue. And they often have serious injuries. 'You've got to get to those folks quick,' Mr. Boyer said. But, he added, 'with floods, you don't typically find a lot of people alive.' Even as they continued to project hope, officials in Texas on Monday began suggesting that their efforts were transitioning from rescuing the missing to recovering their bodies. 'This will be a rough week,' said Mayor Joe Herring Jr. of Kerrville, the seat of Kerr County, where at least 84 people died. 'We need your prayers.' The death toll climbed on Monday across several counties of Hill Country, west of Austin, and reached at least 104 for the state. That number includes 27 campers and counselors at Camp Mystic, an all-girls Christian summer camp, from which 10 campers and a 19-year-old counselor remained missing. The question of when to shift from rescue to recovery is always a difficult one, and there is no hard and fast rule for when to do so, according to Mr. Boyer, who was formerly in charge of a search-and-rescue team at the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office, outside San Francisco. 'It's a very personal decision by that community and the community leaders about when to start discussing recovery,' Mr. Boyer said. 'You don't want to start using the word 'recovery' too soon. But you also don't want to give false hope.' Given the magnitude of the flash flood, he added, it is increasingly unlikely that the missing will be found alive. Some of the bodies may not be recovered at all, or only after many months. 'The community has to work through that,' he said.
Yahoo
38 minutes ago
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Texas Officials Say 'This Will Be a Rough Week' as Death Toll from Flooding Surpasses 100
In the latest update, officials from Kerr County said that 84 bodies have been recovered, including 28 children 10 campers and one counselor from Camp Mystic remain unaccounted for Kerrville Mayor Joe Herring said during a press conference that as search efforts continue, "we remain hopeful"As the death toll from the Texas flooding disaster continues to rise, officials are offering their sympathies — and stressing that search efforts for all who remain missing will continue. In an update on the morning of Monday, July 7, Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said that the bodies of 75 people had been recovered across the country — hours later, that number increased to 84, including 56 adults and 28 children. The latest news brings the total number of victims to at least 104, according to the Associated Press and NBC News. Of the deceased, identification is still pending for 22 adults and 10 children. In the same afternoon update, officials confirmed that 10 young girls from Camp Mystic, a Christian girls' camp nestled in Texas Hill Country, as well as one camp counselor remain unaccounted for along. In a message on their website, the camp said they were mourning the loss of 27 campers and counselors. During the morning press conference, Kerrville Mayor Joe Herring acknowledged how hard it is to have to wait for answers about loved ones. 'I need to tell my community and those families who are waiting – this will be a rough week,' Herring remarked, sharing that officials "remain hopeful every foot, every mile, every bend of the river." City manager Dalton Rice added that the search is still in its primary phase, and that anybody looking to volunteer should contact the Salvation Army in Kerrville. At another point during the press conference, reflecting on the loss of life at Camp Mystic, Sen. Ted Cruz said that "the pain and agony of not knowing your child's whereabouts, it's the worst thing imaginable." 'Everyone would agree, in hindsight, if we could go back and do it again, we would evacuate,' he added, according to CNN. 'Particularly those in the most vulnerable areas — the young children in the cabins closest to the water, we would remove them and get them to higher ground, if we could go back and do it again.' Amid ongoing criticism about how the response to the natural disaster was handled, Cruz argued against "partisan finger pointing" and went on to express faith that the Lone Star state will begin to heal eventually. 'We will come through this," Cruz said. "To those in the midst of grief right now, that might seem hard to fathom, but Texas will come through this.' To learn how to help support the victims and recovery efforts from the Texas floods, click here. Read the original article on People
Bloomberg
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Deaths From Texas Floods Exceed 100 With Toll Expected to Rise
By More than 100 people have been confirmed dead in floods that tore through central Texas over the weekend, marking a grim milestone as searchers used boats, dogs and drones to locate victims and authorities debated whether anything more could have been done to prevent the disaster. Confirmed fatalities reached 104, according to the Associated Press, and included 27 children and counselors who had been missing from the Mystic girls' summer camp that sat alongside the Guadalupe River in the heart of the Hill Country, a popular recreation area that's about a two-hour drive west of Austin.
