Texas Floods: Search Continues for Camp Mystic Girls
The search continues in Texas on Sunday for 10 girls from a children's camp who are missing amid deadly flash floods along the Guadalupe River in Texas Hill Country. Texas authorities provided a general overview of the disaster in the state on Sunday afternoon, reporting a rise in the death toll. There have been at least 80 fatalities, including at least 28 children. 68 of those deaths occurred in Kerr County. Several of the deceased have yet to be formally identified. Many people remain unaccounted for as the rescue efforts continue for a third day.
An alert sent on Sunday afternoon warned people along the Guadalupe River to move to higher ground as further flooding is expected.
'This is a death toll that continues to rise,' Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick told NBC on Sunday morning, reiterating that search and rescue efforts had not slowed down. 'We never give up on looking for someone. We've had storms in the past where people have gone down river 10, 15 miles, and you find them later and they've survived... Those hours, of course, are getting long now.'
Among those still missing are 10 young girls and one counselor from an all-girls Christian summer camp, Camp Mystic, Sheriff Larry Leitha of Kerr County confirmed on Sunday afternoon. The camp is situated right by the river in Kerr County, which was hit especially hard by Friday's flash flood. Parents have been appealing for information about their missing children via social media.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who referred to the flood as "extraordinarily catastrophic,' visited the Camp Mystic site on Saturday and said it had been "horrendously ravaged in ways unlike I've seen in any natural disaster."
"The height the rushing water reached to the top of cabins was shocking. We won't stop until we find every girl who was in those cabins," Abbott said.
Rescue teams have been using helicopters, drones, and boats to search for victims and reach survivors. A difficult task as, per the authorities, the Guadalupe River rose 26 ft in under an hour on Friday. Though the flood waters are now receding, authorities have said the area is still 'very difficult terrain,' especially as debris is washing up and further flooding is feared.
Sheriff Leitha said officials have evacuated or rescued over 850 people so far.
Read More: Texas Suffers Deadly Flash Floods on July 4
Camp Mystic is understood to house older girls on elevated ground known as Senior Hill. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick on Friday evening said: "All campers on Senior Hill are accounted for. If your daughter is not accounted for, you have been notified from the camp. If you have not been personally contacted, then your daughter has been accounted for." He went on to clarify, "That does not mean [the missing children] have been lost. They could be out of communication."
Patrick read a statement from Camp Mystic, saying it had experienced "catastrophic levels of flooding" and has been left with "no power, water, or wifi."
'The camp was completely destroyed,' said 13-year-old Elinor Lester, one of the campers at Camp Mystic, according to Associated Press. 'A helicopter landed and started taking people away. It was really scary.'
Camp Mystic's longtime director Dick Eastland lost his life in the floods, officials and family members confirmed. In a tribute shared on Instagram, Eastland's grandson George said he died trying to save girls at the camp.
Jane Ragsdale, the director and long-time co-owner of Heart O' the Hills, another camp in the area, also lost her life in the flood, according to an announcement from the summer camp.
'We are fortunate that the camp was between sessions when the flooding occurred, so there were no campers in residence. However, our director and the camp's longtime co-owner, Jane Ragsdale, lost her life. We at the camp are stunned and deeply saddened by Jane's death,' the statement read. 'She embodied the spirit of Heart O' the Hills and was exactly the type of strong, joyful woman that the camp aimed to develop with the girls entrusted to us each summer.'
On Friday, Abbott issued a disaster declaration for 15 counties in Texas 'to ensure counties have access to every tool, strategy, and personnel that the State of Texas can provide to them, which will be limitless.' On Saturday afternoon, Abbott expanded his disaster declaration. "We will continue to add counties as needed," Abbott told reporters. "We will ensure that every asset and resource the state has is going to be made available to every county that's a subject of this disaster declaration."
Abbott also signed a request for a federal disaster declaration, seeking immediate and ongoing help from the federal government. He thanked President Donald Trump 'in advance' for his attention to the matter.
Noem joined Abbott at a press conference on Saturday afternoon, in which she indicated that Trump would 'honor' Abbott's request as he is "absolutely committed to using all the resources at the federal government to help unify families [and try to] rescue all those who are still missing."
Trump first commented on the floods on Friday, calling the news 'shocking' when talking to reporters on Air Force One. When asked about federal aid, Trump said: 'We'll take care of it,' adding that he would work with Abbott.
Trump elaborated on Saturday morning, stating that his Administration is working with state and local officials in response to the 'tragic' flooding, and that Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem would be assessing the situation on-the-ground in Texas.
'Melania and I are praying for all of the families impacted by this horrible tragedy,' Trump said via Truth Social. 'Our brave first responders are on site doing what they do best. God bless the families and God bless Texas.'
Meanwhile, locals spent the weekend clinging on to hope in regards to the missing persons.
Texas Rep. Chip Roy, a Republican, told press on Saturday that one of his children's schoolmates was on a mattress for several hours in the middle of the night after the flood, but had since been reunited with her mom. Roy did not clarify if the child was floating on a mattress in floodwaters or where they had been prior to the flooding.
'Those are the kind of blessings that we should be celebrating, while we're also mourning the loss of life as we identify those who didn't make it,' Roy said.
Read More: Experts Question If Weather Service Was Operating at Its Best Ahead of Texas Floods Amid Trump Administration Cuts
Nim Kidd, the chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM), said Friday that National Weather Service (NWS) advisories and forecasts 'did not predict the amount of rain we saw.'
Early Thursday afternoon, the NWS had issued a broad flood watch for parts of south-central Texas, including Kerr County. "Locally heavy rainfall could cause flash flooding across portions of South Central Texas," read the notice. The most severe warnings came in the middle of the night and early morning on Friday.
Contact us at letters@time.com.
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