Texas floods death count surpasses 100 as recovery efforts continue
A deluge of rainfall inundated the Guadalupe River in Kerr County on Friday before dawn and unleashed a gush of fast-moving water that plucked cabins off their foundations and ravaged the area.
At least 103 people were killed across the region, including 28 children and 56 adults in Kerr County. At least seven people died in Travis County, six in Kendall County, three in Burnet County, two in Williamson County and one in Tom Green County. Portraits of those killed emerged on social media and news outlets over the weekend, including kids who texted their relatives that they loved them.
At least 25 people were reported missing across the region Monday, but it is not clear how many people in total are still unaccounted for. A local government official said it was still 'a lot' after days of search and rescue operations. Those searching said they have been dealing with prank calls, false tips and rugged terrain across a roughly 60-mile area.
Among the killed in one of the deadliest floods in recent American history were 27 campers and counselors from Camp Mystic, a summertime Christian retreat for generations of Texas girls. The camp's director, Richard 'Dick' Eastland, also died. Ten campers and a counselor were among the missing.
A number of south Central Texas counties, including Kerr, had been under a flash flood watch on Monday, which meteorologists issue when it is possible that excessive rain causes floods, but it expired at 7 p.m. Such a situation could have further complicated search efforts already hindered by the destruction wreaked by Friday's storm.
'I need to tell my community and those families who are waiting: This will be a rough week,' Kerrville Mayor Joe Herring Jr. said. 'Primary search continues, and we remain hopeful.'
President Donald Trump is planning to visit the region later this week to tour the damage, which one estimate placed between $18 billion and $22 billion in destruction and economic losses.
Meanwhile, attention turned to measures that could help prevent similar disasters in a region prone to flash floods. Almost immediately after the tragedy, the flash floods raised questions about whether people in the area had received adequate warning. Local and state officials have said that National Weather Service forecasts did not accurately predict the intensity of the rainfall.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, the state's second-in-command, said Monday that 'there should have been sirens here.'
The New York Times reported over the weekend that there was hesitation from locals to spend money on such a system because of the high cost. 'Taxpayers won't pay for it,' Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly told the Times.
'The state needs to step up and pay for these,' Patrick said on Fox News. 'Had we had sirens along this area, up and down — the same type of sirens that they have in Israel when there's an attack coming that would have blown very loudly, it's possible that that would have saved some of these lives.'
Gov. Greg Abbott suggested lawmakers might address the issue during an upcoming special legislative session set to begin in two weeks. Patrick said the sirens must be in place 'by the next summer.'
State Sen. Paul Bettencourt, a Houston Republican, said Monday that he intends to introduce legislation to create a system of alert sirens for flash flood–prone river valleys.
'We are going to combine 'old-tech' sirens (emergency alert overrides that can't be turned off) with 'new-tech' to alert Texans to get to higher ground,' Bettencourt wrote on social media. 'It's time to go back to what worked and still does in Tornado Alley, civil defense sirens.'
In Washington, D.C., White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the National Weather Service's meteorologists, telling reporters that they had 'executed timely and precise forecasts and warnings.'
Amid search and rescue efforts, Herring said Monday he cannot get over the response to help the city and surrounding areas after the flood. One thing he wants everyone to know is how thankful he is for all the first responders and volunteers. Nearly 1,000 people have come to Kerrville as either first responders to help the search and response teams or volunteer to help those displaced by the flooding, he said.
'These are not just guys with a pickup and a chainsaw," Herring said. "They are trained professionals who are here doing a grim job."
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