Search teams scour Texas flood zone for dozens missing
The bulk of the death toll from Friday's flash floods was concentrated in the riverfront Hill Country Texas town of Kerrville, accounting for 68 of the dead, including 28 children, according to Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha.
The Guadalupe River, transformed by pre-dawn torrential downpours into a raging, killer torrent in less than hour, runs directly through Kerrville.
The loss of life there included an unspecified number of fatalities at the Camp Mystic summer camp, a Christian girls retreat on the banks of the Guadalupe where authorities reported two dozen children unaccounted for in the immediate aftermath of the flooding on Friday.
On Sunday, Leitha said search teams were still looking for 10 girls and one camp counsellor, but he did not specify the fate of others initially counted as missing.
As of late Sunday afternoon, state officials said 10 other flood-related fatalities were confirmed across four neighbouring south-central Texas counties, and that 41 other people were still listed as unaccounted for in the disaster beyond Kerr County.
Freeman Martin, director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, predicted the death toll would rise further as floodwaters receded and the search gained momentum.
Authorities also warned that continued rainfall - even if lighter than Friday's deluge - could unleash additional flash floods because the landscape was so saturated.
State emergency management officials had warned on Thursday, before the July Fourth holiday, that parts of central Texas faced possible heavy showers and flash floods based on National Weather Service Forecasts.
But twice as much rain as predicted ended up falling over two branches of the Guadalupe just upstream from where they converge, sending all that water racing into the single river channel where it slices through Kerrville, according to City Manager Dalton Rice.
Rice and other public officials, including Governor Greg Abbott, vowed that the circumstances of the flooding, and the adequacy for weather forecasts and warning systems would be scrutinised once the immediate situation was brought under control.
In the meantime, the land and air search continues around the clock.
Officials said on Saturday that more than 850 people had been rescued, some clinging to trees, after a sudden storm dumped up to 38cm of rain across the region.
As well as the 68 lives lost in Kerr County, three died in Burnet County, one in Tom Green County, five in Travis County and one in Williamson County.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is sending resources to Texas after President Donald Trump issued a major disaster declaration.
Trump, who is expected to visit the disaster area this week, has previously outlined plans to scale back the federal government's role in responding to natural disasters, leaving more of the burden to the states.
Some experts questioned whether cuts to the federal workforce by the Trump administration, including to the agency that oversees the National Weather Service, led to a failure to accurately predict the severity of the floods and issue appropriate warnings.
Trump pushed back when asked on Sunday if federal government cuts hobbled the disaster response or left key job vacancies at the Weather Service under Trump's oversight.
"That water situation, that all is, and that was really the Biden set-up," he said referencing his Democratic predecessor, Joe Biden.
"But I wouldn't blame Biden for it, either. I would just say this is 100-year catastrophe."
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Perth Now
36 minutes ago
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Flood alerts questioned as rescuers search for missing
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9 News
2 hours ago
- 9 News
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US Coast Guard rescue swimmer hailed as a hero after saving 165 kids from Texas flooding
Your web browser is no longer supported. To improve your experience update it here BREAKING RBA keeps interest rates on hold It was Petty Officer Scott Ruskan's first mission as a US Coast Guard rescue swimmer. The 26-year-old was new to the Coast Guard. He had left a previous career as an accountant before enlisting, and had graduated from rescue swimming school around six months ago when his team got the call from Task Force 1, a local search-and-rescue team in Texas, early Friday morning. It was Petty Officer Scott Ruskan's first mission as a US Coast Guard rescue swimmer. (CNN) They were needed urgently in central Texas where torrential flooding had struck over the July Fourth weekend. Dozens of people were dead, and more were missing. The team deployed around 7am Friday from Corpus Christi, about 200 miles south of where the Guadalupe River in Kerr County, Texas, had risen from about 3 feet to nearly 30 feet. 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(CNN) The ongoing urgent response includes Black Hawk helicopters deployed by the Texas National Guard and Air National Guard. What should have been a one-hour flight into the landing zone near the camp took about six or seven hours, Ruskan told CNN. The crew battled "some pretty, pretty nasty weather," he told CNN, some of the worst he had experienced in his career. It took the team four attempts and the help of the Air National Guard for the aircraft to make its way through the brutal storm, he said. From above, he could see firsthand the devastating flood and its effects on the landscape. "I've never seen anything this tragic in my life," he said. On the ground, Ruskan realised he was the only first responder around and was met with "about 200 kids, mostly all scared, terrified, cold, having probably the worst day of their life." But after arriving at Camp Mystic, Ruskan said, the crew was needed at another, more dangerous location. Officials search on the grounds of Camp Mystic on Sunday in Hunt, Texas. (CNN) The aircraft could fit more people at the next site without him onboard, and Ruskan could help where he was. The crew decided leaving him behind at Camp Mystic as a triage coordinator at the "hectic" site was the best option. They were ultimately able to airlift 15 children at the other location without Ruskan on the aircraft. At the camp, Ruskan comforted the distressed children gathered into an area above the flood zone, and heard stories from camp counsellors who rushed to push campers out the door before cabins flooded. Some kids had cuts on their feet because they were barefoot. They didn't have time to put on shoes before they scrambled to safety. For around three hours, Ruskan said, he was the only rescuer on site and had no communication due to poor radio reception and no cell service. But any fear he had, he pushed aside to focus on his young charges. "They're having probably the worst day of their life. They're missing friends. They're missing loved ones," he said. "They don't know where they are. Some of them may be unaccounted for. Some of them may be somewhere else." Flash flooding is seen at the Guadalupe River in Kerrville, Texas, on July 5. (CNN) He did his best to reassure the shell-shocked campers, promising he would get them out and that other rescuers were looking for their missing friends. Comfort "could be something as simple as holding their hand," he added. Texas Air National Guard aircraft landed at the camp's archery field and soccer field, and Ruskan led the children, about 10 to 15 at a time, to the aircraft. He focused on getting the youngest children out first. Ruskan helped rescue approximately 165 campers with him, carrying some to the helicopter to help them avoid slipping on wet rocks or cutting their feet even more. Despite rescuers' best efforts, 27 of the girls' Camp Mystic friends and counsellors died in the catastrophic floods, and 10 campers and one counsellor are still unaccounted for. The camp's longtime director Dick Eastman also died, trying to rescue campers. At least 100 people have died from the devastating floods. A Texas DPS helicopter conducts arial searches along the Guadalupe River in Kerrville on July 4. (CNN) Ruskan says the magnitude of his effort has just started to sink in. The rescue swimmer has been hailed as an "American hero" by the Department of Homeland Security. The agency lauded the "extraordinary bravery and selfless service of Ruskan and his fellow first responders." But he said the other counsellors who helped rescue efforts and the tough kids were also heroes. Seeing how bravely they acted, he said, "it made me a better rescuer." CONTACT US Auto news: 'No simple answer': Is there a buffer for speed cameras?
