Texas Flood Death Toll: Families desperate as number reaches 52; 27 girls still unaccounted for as searches continue
Kerr County: 44 confirmed dead. Most victims were swept away along the Guadalupe River near Hunt and Ingram, where floodwaters rose over 25 feet in under an hour.
Travis County: 5 dead. Several cars were caught on flooded roads west of Austin.
Burnet County: 2 dead. A father and daughter were found in a trailer near Lake Buchanan.
Kendall County: 1 confirmed dead. A woman's body was recovered near Comfort after her car was washed off a rural crossing.
Live Events
The missing and the waiting
A region known for danger
Frantic rescues, bitter questions
Families swept away
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When the rain came, it wasn't gentle. It battered central Texas in the early hours of Friday, turning the Guadalupe River into a raging force that rose 26 feet in just 45 minutes. By Saturday night, the floods had killed at least 52 people, 15 of them children, and left rescuers combing through debris and mud for the missing.In Kerr County alone, 43 lives were lost. Many were campers at Camp Mystic , a Christian summer retreat that had stood along the river for nearly a century. It's here that 27 girls are still unaccounted for.'The camp was completely destroyed,' said Elinor Lester, 13, one of the survivors. 'A helicopter landed and started taking people away. It was really scary.'The death toll from the flash floods that ripped through Texas Hill Country has climbed to 52, including 15 children. Search teams are still combing through debris and swollen rivers, with 27 girls from Camp Mystic still missing. Here's what we know so far about where victims were found:Search teams have rescued more than 850 people so far — some from trees, others from rooftops. But there's a grim sense that time is slipping away. Dalton Rice, Kerrville City Manager, said, 'We're tracking the 'known missing' — the 27 — but there could be others. We simply don't know yet.'At an elementary school acting as a reunification centre, families wait for news. Some cling to hope. Others brace for the worst.'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.This part of Texas has a nickname: flash flood alley . It's earned. The Hill Country is all rugged slopes and shallow soils that shed rain like a tin roof.'When it rains, water doesn't soak into the soil,' said Austin Dickson, CEO of the Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country. 'It rushes down the hill.'In the past, officials had considered setting up a flood siren system along the river — like the tornado sirens in the Midwest. 'We know we get rains. We know the river rises. But nobody saw this coming,' said Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly. He admitted the plan for flood warnings never got off the ground, partly because of the cost.Inside Camp Mystic, the chaos came fast. Some campers crossed bridges roped together in knee-high water. Others were lifted out by helicopter. An 8-year-old girl from Alabama was among the confirmed dead. Jane Ragsdale, co-owner of Heart O' the Hills, another nearby camp, died in the flooding too.Governor Greg Abbott declared a state of disaster and urged Texans to pray. 'I urge every Texan to join me in prayer this Sunday — for the lives lost, for those still missing, for the recovery of our communities, and for the safety of those on the front lines,' he said.Yet there's anger too. AccuWeather claimed its warnings, along with alerts from the National Weather Service, should have given officials enough time to evacuate vulnerable camps. 'These warnings should have provided officials with ample time to evacuate camps such as Camp Mystic and get people to safety,' the company said.Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem admitted the forecast had fallen short. 'A moderate flood watch issued on Thursday… did not accurately predict the extreme rainfall,' she said.Former NOAA director Rick Spinrad put it more bluntly: 'People's ability to prepare for these storms will be compromised. It undoubtedly means that additional lives will be lost and probably more property damage.'There's no shortage of horror stories. Erin Burgess and her teenage son clung to a tree for an hour after water poured into their house. '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 watched water drive his entire family — including his 94-year-old grandmother and his 9-year-old grandson — into the attic. '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.'W. Nim Kidd, chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management, promised that no one will give up. 'The process is going to keep going,' he said. 'We're not going to stop until we find everyone that's missing.'President Donald Trump offered prayers and federal aid. 'Our Brave First Responders are on site doing what they do best,' he posted.Yet for many families in the Hill Country, the truth is harder than any headline. Tonia Fucci summed up the mood as she stood in Comfort, a town downstream from Camp Mystic. 'Complete shock. I'm still in shock today. And with the rescues going on and helicopters, you just know there's so many missing children and missing people. You just want them to be found for the sake of the families. But, you know, it's not going to be a good ending.'Here's the thing. In places like this, rain can turn deadly overnight. The question is whether this time, someone should have seen it coming.(With inputs from Agencies)
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Kerr County officials said Monday 10 campers and one counselor have still not been found. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Nhu Quynh: Unsold Furniture Liquidation 2024 (Prices May Surprise You) Unsold Furniture | Search Ads Learn More Undo Searchers have found the bodies of 84 people, including 28 children, in the county home to Camp Mystic and several other summer camps, officials said. With additional rain on the way, more flooding still threatened saturated parts of central Texas. Authorities said the death toll was sure to rise. Live Events The raging flash floods - among the nation's worst in decades - slammed into camps and homes along the edge of the Guadalupe River before daybreak Friday, pulling sleeping 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. Piles of twisted trees sprinkled with mattresses, refrigerators and coolers littered the riverbanks Monday. The debris included reminders of what drew so many to the campgrounds and cabins in the Hill Country - a volleyball, canoes and a family portrait. 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. Calls for finding why warnings weren't heard Authorities vowed that one of the next steps would be investigating whether enough warnings were issued and why some camps did not evacuate or move to higher ground in a place long vulnerable to flooding that some local residents refer to as "flash flood alley." That will include a review of how weather warnings were sent out and received. One of the challenges is that many camps and cabins are in places with poor cellphone service, Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice said. "We definitely want to dive in and look at all those things," he said. "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. Sen. Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican, said recent government spending cuts to the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the National Weather Service did not delay any warnings. "There's a time to have political fights, there's a time to disagree. This is not that time," Cruz said. "There will be a time to find out what could been done differently. My hope is in time we learn some lessons to implement the next time there is a flood." The weather service first advised of potential flooding on Thursday and then sent out a series of flash flood warnings in the early hours of Friday before issuing flash flood emergencies - a rare step that alerts the public to imminent danger. Authorities and elected officials have said they did not expect such an intense downpour, the equivalent of months of rain. Some residents said they never received any warnings. President Donald Trump, who signed a major disaster declaration for Kerr County, said he plans to visit the state on Friday. He had said Sunday that he does not plan to rehire any of the federal meteorologists who were fired this year. "This was a thing that happened in seconds. Nobody expected it," the president said. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said local and federal weather services provided sufficient warnings. Crews search for dozens of people More than three dozen people were unaccounted for across the state and more could be missing, Gov. Greg Abbott said Sunday. Search-and-rescue crews at one staging area said Monday that more than 1,000 volunteers had been directed to Kerr County. Kerrville city officials urged people to stop flying drones over the area after they said a private drone operating illegally Monday afternoon collided with a helicopter involved in emergency operations. The helicopter was forced to make an emergency landing and is out of service until further notice. Little time to escape floods Reagan Brown said his parents, in their 80s, managed to escape uphill as water inundated their home in the town of Hunt. When the couple learned that their 92-year-old neighbor was trapped in her attic, they went back and rescued her. "Then they were able to reach their tool shed up higher ground, and neighbors throughout the early morning began to show up at their tool shed, and they all rode it out together," Brown said. 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Hans India
an hour ago
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Texas flash floods: Death toll crosses 100; questions grow over warnings and camp evacuations
More than 100 people have died in Texas after devastating flash floods swept through the state over the July Fourth weekend. Rescue teams are still searching for the missing as questions grow about whether enough warnings were issued. read more The death toll from severe flooding in Texas over the July Fourth weekend rose above 100 on Monday, as rescue crews continued searching swollen rivers and clearing debris to find people still missing. Authorities said they were not yet ready to answer questions about weather warnings or why some summer camps didn't evacuate before the floods hit. So far, at least 104 people have died. Camp Mystic, a historic all-girls Christian summer camp in the Texas Hill Country, announced it had lost 27 campers and counselors to the floodwaters. Kerr County officials said that as of Monday, 10 campers and one counselor were still missing. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Search teams have recovered the bodies of 84 people in the county, including 28 children, where Camp Mystic and several other camps are located. With more rain forecast, officials warned that flooding could worsen in parts of central Texas. They said the death toll is expected to rise. The devastating flash floods — among the worst in decades — struck early Friday, sweeping through camps and homes along the Guadalupe River. People were pulled from their cabins, tents, and trailers and carried away by fast-moving water filled with tree trunks and cars. Some survivors were rescued from trees. On Monday, riverbanks were strewn with tangled trees, mattresses, refrigerators, coolers, and personal items like a volleyball, canoes, and a family photo — reminders of the area's popular campgrounds and cabins. Nineteen deaths were also reported in nearby counties, including Travis, Burnet, Kendall, Tom Green, and Williamson. Among the victims 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 are still missing. Questions about warnings Officials said an investigation will follow to find out whether enough warnings were issued and why some camps didn't evacuate or move people to higher ground in an area known as 'flash flood alley.' Poor cellphone service in many remote camps and cabins may have been a factor, said Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'We definitely want to dive in and look at all those things,' Rice said. 'We're looking forward to doing that once we can get the search and rescue complete.' Some camps did act on weather alerts and moved campers to higher ground before the flooding began. Senator Ted Cruz said recent federal budget cuts did not cause delays in issuing warnings. 'There's a time to have political fights, there's a time to disagree. This is not that time,' Cruz said. 'There will be a time to find out what could have been done differently. My hope is in time we learn some lessons to implement the next time there is a flood.' The National Weather Service began warning of possible flooding on Thursday and issued several flash flood warnings early Friday, later declaring flash flood emergencies — a rare step signaling imminent danger.
