Texas floods leave at least 51 dead, 27 girls missing as rescuers search devastated landscape
A day and a half after the floods, authorities have still not said how many people are missing beyond 27 children from Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp. Most of the dead were found nearby.
The Guadalupe river surged more than eight metres in just 45 minutes on Friday, destroying homes, camps and vehicles. The disaster unfolded as heavy rains continued across Texas into the weekend, prompting more flash floods warnings.
Search and rescue operations intensified Saturday, with helicopters, boats and drones deployed to retrieve stranded residents and locate the missing.
'We will find every one of them,' Governor Greg Abbott said.Kerr County sheriff Larry Leitha confirmed 32 fatalities in the Hill Country region: 18 adults and 14 children. Additional deaths were reported in Travis County and Burnet County.
Authorities have come under scrutiny over whether proper warnings were issued to camps and residents in an area long known for severe flash flooding.
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.
The hills along the Guadalupe River in central Texas are dotted with youth camps and campgrounds. 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 Dalton Rice, the city manager.
Private forecaster AccuWeather said that it and the National Weather Service had sent warnings about potential flash flooding hours before the devastation.
Rescue efforts are expected to continue through the weekend as authorities work to account for the missing and assess the full extent of the damage.
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Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Death toll of central Texas flash floods rises to at least 66, officials say
At least 66 people are dead in central Texas after devastating flash floods slammed Texas Hill Country, with water rescues taking place along the Guadalupe River. A dozen are still missing from Camp Mystic in Kerr County, a children's summer camp, officials said Sunday. Of the fatalities, 59 have happened so far in Kerr County, its sheriff, Larry Leitha, said at a news conference Sunday morning — an increase from 43 deaths reported the previous night. The dead include 38 adults and 21 children, with 18 of the adults and four of the children unidentified. As of Sunday, at least 11 Camp Mystic campers are missing, along with one counselor, Leitha told reporters. There were about 750 children at Camp Mystic when the floods hit, the sheriff said earlier. Pope Leo extended a prayer to the flooding victims during Sunday mass at the Vatican, saying, "I express my sincere condolences to all the families who have lost loved ones, in particular their daughters who were at summer camp, in the disaster caused by the flooding of the Guadalupe river in Texas in the United States." At least four deaths were confirmed in Travis County, county spokesperson Hector Nieto told CBS News by phone Saturday night. Travis County includes the Texas capital city of Austin. In Burnet County, at least two people were confirmed dead and another six were missing, according to Derek Marchio, emergency management coordinator for the county. More than 50 rescues had been conducted countywide since the flooding crisis unfolded, Marchio said. In Tom Green County, the San Angelo Police Department confirmed Saturday the death of a 62-year-old woman identified as Tanya Burwick. Police said Burwick was driving when her vehicle became submerged by floodwaters. Officials have conducted more than 160 air rescues, Leitha said in an earlier update, adding that 850 uninjured and eight injured people have been rescued overall as of Saturday. U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a social media post that the U.S. Coast Guard was responsible for saving 223 of those people, as dramatic video showed Guard members conducting aerial rescues near Kerrville on Thursday, while dark water covered the ground. The Department of Homeland Security oversees the Federal Emergency Management Agency. "We've been rescuing people out of these camps by the hundreds, you know, all day," Rice said Saturday night. "There's a lot of folks that are shelter in place, so we leave them in place to make sure that we get them food, water." Some of the hundreds of people who were rescued in the last 36 hours were hanging onto trees, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said in Saturday's news conference. The governor said he signed an updated federal disaster declaration to include several other counties in Texas that have been damaged by storms. Noem, who was also in attendance at the news conference, said President Trump has indicated that he will honor Abbott's declaration. Earlier, on Thursday, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said in a social media post that he had spoken to Mr. Trump, who "committed ANYTHING Texas needs" to respond to the tragedy. Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly said in Saturday's briefing that his property was also devastated by the flooding and he "barely got home" on Friday. Kelly also said he had visited a funeral home and "got to see firsthand many of the body bags" before going on a helicopter ride with Sen. John Cornyn and Kerrville Mayor Joe Herring to survey the damage. "It's gonna be a long time before we're ever going to be able to clean it up much less rebuild it," Kelly said. "We didn't know. We knew we'd get rain, we know the river rises but nobody saw this coming." Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said in a news briefing on Friday that there hadn't been "a drop of rain until the tragedy struck" earlier in the day, and that the Guadalupe River had risen about 26 feet in 45 minutes. An alert went out around 4 and 5 a.m. local time Friday, he said. Speaking to reporters late Friday night aboard Air Force One, Mr. Trump called the floods a "terrible thing." On Saturday, he said his administration was working with state and local officials "on the ground" in Texas to respond to the flooding. "Melania and I are praying for all the families impacted by this horrible tragedy," Mr. Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. "Our Brave First Responders are on site doing what they do best. GOD BLESS THE FAMILIES, AND GOD BLESS TEXAS!" How did the Guadalupe River flood so quickly? Rice, Kerrville's city manager, explained how the Guadalupe River flooded so quickly. "When you look at the headwaters of the Guadalupe... there's a north and a south fork," Rice said Friday night. "Since 1987, under normal conditions, if you can call it that, you'll hit water in one of those areas, and those two forks will converge into the Guadalupe, which comes through the city of Kerrville." "This rain event sat on top of that and dumped more rain than what was forecasted on both of those forks," Rice continued. "When we got the report, it was about 7 feet or so on the south fork, and within a matter of minutes it was up to 29 feet, and all of that converged at Guadalupe." The Guadalupe River at Hunt reached its second-highest height on record, higher than the famous 1987 flood, the city said, citing the National Weather Service. The Texas Division of Emergency Management had multiple meetings since Thursday to prepare, but the National Weather Service "did not predict the amount of rain" that actually fell, officials said, adding that forecasters originally estimated up to 8 inches of rainfall for the area. Kerr County judge Rob Kelly said the area does "not have a warning system," and authorities were shocked by the ferocity of the floods. "We had no reason to believe that this was gonna be any, anything like what's happened here. None whatsoever," Kelly told CBS Evening News. Texas issued flash flood emergencies in five counties in West Texas on Friday as Hill Country continued to be slammed by severe rain and flooding. Between 5 and 11 inches of rain have fallen in northwestern Bandera County, Central Kerr County, Northeastern Tom Green County, East Central Kerr County and West Central Kendall County, according to the National Weather Service. Search and rescue operations are ongoing There are hundreds of people on the ground from various units helping with search and rescue operations, officials said. The operations have included drones, helicopters, rescue divers, boats and high-water vehicles, after Abbott signed a disaster declaration for several counties hit by flooding. At a news conference, the governor said his declaration "ensures all the counties will have access to every tool, strategy, personnel that the state of Texas can provide to them, which will be limitless." "We will stop at nothing to ensure that every asset and person and plane, whatever is needed, is going to be involved in the process of rescuing every last person and ensure everybody involved in this is going to be fully accounted for," Abbott said. Lorena Gullen, who owns a restaurant right next to an RV park that was affected by the floods, said "raging water" swept away vehicles, some with people still inside. Residents at the park had been celebrating the Fourth of July. "You could also see vehicles coming from up the river with the lights on and hear somebody honking, and they were washing away but they kept going," she told CBS Evening News. "It was impossible." Over 2 dozen people still missing Three girls from Dallas — 8-year-old Hadley Hanna and 9-year-olds Eloise Peck and Lila Bonner — were identified as missing Camp Mystic campers. Bonner's family confirmed to CBS Texas on Saturday that she was among the children confirmed dead in the flood. Two sisters from Dallas — 13-year-old Blair Harber and 11-year-old Brooke Harber — were also confirmed dead Saturday by the St. Rita Catholic Community church in Dallas. The sisters were not attending Camp Mystic, but were staying with their grandparents in an area along the Guadalupe River where the flooding occurred. Their grandparents remain unaccounted for, according to the church. The girls' parents were in a separate cabin and were not harmed. Meanwhile, Rep. August Pfluger of Texas said Saturday that two of his three children were evacuated from Camp Mystic. "The last day has brought unimaginable grief to many families and we mourn with them as well as holding out hope for survivors," Pfluger said in a post on X. On Friday, Patrick addressed the parents of children at Camp Mystic. The lieutenant governor, who briefly acted as governor while Abbott was on vacation, said they are praying for all those missing "to be found alive." "If they are alive and safe, we will find them and bring them home to you," Patrick said Friday. Camp Mystic is an all-girls summer camp, which runs several camps attended by thousands of children during the summer, Patrick said. In a statement read Friday by the lieutenant governor, the camp said they did not have power, water or Wi-Fi in the aftermath of what it called a "catastrophic level" of flooding. The statement added that "the highway has washed away, so we are struggling to get more help." The camp sits on a strip known as "flash flood alley," Austin Dickson, the CEO of the Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country, told the Associated Press. The foundation is a charitable endowment that collects donations to help nonprofits responding to the disaster. "When it rains, water doesn't soak into the soil," Dickson said. "It rushes down the hill." Elinor Lester, 13, told the Associated Press that she and her cabinmates were evacuated by helicopter. Her cabin was on elevated ground, but younger campers bunked in cabins situated along the riverbank, she said. Those were the first to flood. Younger campers came up the hill for shelter. "The camp was completely destroyed," she told the Associated Press. "It was really scary. Everyone I know personally is accounted for, but there are people missing that I know of and we don't know where they are." Her mother, Elizabeth Lester, told the Associated Press her son was at Camp La Junta, a nearby summer camp, and also survived after a counselor woke up, saw rising water and helped the boys swim out through a window. Camp La Junta and another camp on the river, Camp Waldemar, said in Instagram posts that all campers and staff there were safe. "My kids are safe, but knowing others are still missing is just eating me alive," Elizabeth Lester told the Associated Press. Several people missing from Texas summer camp amid deadly flooding, officials say Nature: Shenandoah National Park in Virginia Emulsifying the truth behind mayonnaise
Boston Globe
an hour ago
- Boston Globe
Search for 27 missing girls continues after floods in Texas
Advertisement With each passing hour, the outlook became more bleak. Volunteers and some families of the missing who drove to the disaster zone began searching the riverbanks despite being asked not to do so. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Authorities faced growing questions about whether enough warnings were issued in area long vulnerable to flooding and whether enough preparations were made. The destructive, fast-moving waters rose 26 feet (8 meters) on the river in only 45 minutes before daybreak Friday, washing away homes and vehicles. The danger was not over as flash flood watches remained in effect and more rain fell in central Texas on Sunday. Searchers used helicopters, boats and drones to look for victims and to rescue people stranded in trees and from camps isolated by washed-out roads. Officials said more than 850 people were rescued in the first 36 hours. Advertisement Debris, including a canoe, wrapped around a tree on the road to Camp Mystic in Hunt, Texas. CARTER JOHNSTON/NYT A day of prayers in Texas Gov. Greg Abbott vowed that authorities will work around the clock and said new areas were being searched as the water receded. He declared Sunday a day of prayer for the state. '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 in a statement. In Rome, Pope Leo XIV offered special prayers for those touched by the disaster. History's first American pope spoke in English at the end of his Sunday noon blessing, 'I would like to express sincere condolences to all the families who have lost loved ones, in particular their daughters who were in summer camp, in the disaster caused by the flooding of the Guadalupe River in Texas in the United States. We pray for them.' The hills along the Guadalupe River 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 Independence Day holiday, making it more difficult to know how many are missing. 'We don't even want to begin to estimate at this time,' Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice said on Saturday. People reacted as they inspected an area outside sleeping quarters at Camp Mystic. Julio Cortez/Associated Press Harrowing escapes from floodwaters Survivors shared terrifying stories of being swept away and clinging to trees as rampaging floodwaters carried trees and cars past them. Others fled to attics inside their homes, praying the water wouldn't reach them. At Camp Mystic, a cabin full of girls held onto a rope strung by rescuers as they walked across a bridge with water whipping around their legs. Advertisement Among those confirmed dead were an 8-year-old girl from Mountain Brook, Alabama, who was at Camp Mystic, and the director of another camp up the road. Locals know the area as " flash flood alley" but the flooding in the middle of the night caught many campers and residents by surprise even though there were warnings. Texas Governor Greg Abbott, center, was at Camp Mystic on Saturday. Julio Cortez/Associated Press Warnings came before the disaster The National Weather Service on Thursday advised of potential flooding and then sent out a series of flash flood warnings in the early hours of Friday before issuing flash flood emergencies — a rare alert notifying of imminent danger. At the Mo-Ranch Camp in the community of Hunt, officials had been monitoring the weather and opted to move several hundred campers and attendees at a church youth conference to higher ground. At nearby Camps Rio Vista and Sierra Vista, organizers also had mentioned on social media that they were watching the weather the day before ending their second summer session Thursday. Authorities and elected officials have said they did not expect such an intense downpour, the equivalent of months' worth of rain for the area. U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, whose district includes the ravaged area, acknowledged that there would be second-guessing and finger-pointing as people look for someone to blame. Cortez reported from Hunt, Texas, and Seewer from Toledo, Ohio. Associated Press writers Susan Haigh in Hartford, Connecticut, Susan Montoya Bryan in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Nicole Winfield in Rome contributed.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Texas officials to give update on floods as death toll rises to 59
At least 59 people have been killed after flash floods swept through parts of central Texas Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha says 38 adults and 21 children have been killed, with 18 adults and four children pending identification - watch the news conference above He adds that 11 Camp Mystic campers and one councillor remain unaccounted for - here's what we know about the camp Drone footage from Georgetown shows the scale of devastation in central Texas - as reaction has been pouring in from key figures Anthony says he's lost everything in the floods as his home was filled with mud and debris, writes the BBC's Angélica Casas Texas officials to give update on floods as death toll rises to 59
