Desperate search underway for two dozen missing girls after deadly Texas floods
The floodwaters of the Guadalupe River surged 26 feet (8 meters) in just 45 minutes before dawn Friday, washing away homes, vehicles, and devastating the area.
Officials have issued flash flood warnings and watches for parts of central Texas, with additional heavy rainfall expected over the weekend.
Rescue operations have involved helicopters, boats, and drones to locate missing victims and evacuate those stranded.
Among the missing are around 24 girls who were attending Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp situated along the river.
The total number of people unaccounted for remains unclear.
Elinor Lester, 13, a camper at Camp Mystic, described the terrifying ordeal: 'The camp was completely destroyed. A helicopter landed and started taking people away. It was really scary.' She recalled how rescuers helped campers cross a bridge by tying ropes for support as floodwaters surged around their legs.
At a news conference late Friday, Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha confirmed 24 deaths, including children, and said about 240 people had been rescued.
The unexpected flooding struck on the Fourth of July holiday night, catching many residents, campers, and officials by surprise.
The Texas Hill Country, northwest of San Antonio, is a popular summer destination for camping and swimming.
Questions have emerged about the adequacy of warning systems and preparedness. Officials defended their response but acknowledged the intensity of the downpour far exceeded forecasts, which had predicted only three to six inches (76 to 152 millimeters) of rain.
Nim Kidd, chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management, said, 'It did not predict the amount of rain that we saw.'
Meteorologist Bob Fogarty from the National Weather Service's Austin/San Antonio office noted a river gauge near Camp Mystic recorded a 22-foot rise in about two hours before it failed after reaching nearly 30 feet (9 meters).
'The water's moving so fast, you're not going to recognize how bad it is until it's on top of you,' Fogarty said.
More than 1,000 rescue personnel have been deployed, with U.S. Coast Guard helicopters assisting. Several people have been rescued from trees and other precarious locations.
Erin Burgess from Ingram recounted her experience being swept by floodwaters while clinging to a tree with her teenage son.
'Thankfully he's over 6 feet tall. That's the only thing that saved me,' she said. Her boyfriend and dog were initially separated by the flood but were later found safe.
Other residents, like Matthew Stone of Kerrville, said they received no emergency alerts before the flood struck. 'We got no emergency alert. There was nothing,' he said, describing the flood as a 'pitch black wall of death.'
At reunification centers, families anxiously awaited news, some tearful, others relieved as loved ones were found. Barry Adelman shared how he and his family took refuge in their attic as floodwaters filled their home.
'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,' he said.
Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick stated that warnings were issued about heavy rain but emphasized uncertainty about exact locations. Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly acknowledged the county lacks a formal warning system and admitted no one anticipated such an extreme flood.
The slow-moving storm system is expected to bring more heavy rain and flooding across central Texas through Sunday, according to the National Weather Service.
Known locally as 'flash flood alley' due to its steep, thin-soiled hills, the region's terrain causes rainwater to rapidly run off rather than soak in, amplifying flood risks.
The Guadalupe River is a cornerstone of the local economy, supporting tourism and well-established summer camps that draw children nationwide. Austin Dickson, CEO of the Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country, expressed concern for the community's future while coordinating relief efforts.
'It's generally a very tranquil river with really beautiful clear blue water that people have been attracted to for generations,' Dickson said. — Agencies
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Al Arabiya
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Al Arabiya
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Texas Officials Face Scrutiny Over Response to Catastrophic and Deadly Flooding
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But as authorities launch one of the largest search-and-rescue efforts in recent Texas history, they have come under intensifying scrutiny over preparations and why residents and youth summer camps that are dotted along the river were not alerted sooner or told to evacuate. The National Weather Service sent out a series of flash flood warnings in the early hours Friday before issuing flash flood emergencies–a rare alert notifying of imminent danger. Local officials have insisted that no one saw the flood potential coming and have defended their actions. 'There's going to be a lot of finger-pointing, a lot of second-guessing and Monday morning quarterbacking,' said Republican US Rep. Chip Roy, whose district includes Kerr County. 'There's a lot of people saying 'why' and 'how,' and I understand that.' An initial flood watch–which generally urges residents to be weather aware–was issued by the local National Weather Service office at 1:18 p.m. local time on Thursday. It predicted rain amounts of between 5 to 7 inches (12.7 to 17.8 centimeters). Weather messaging from the office, including automated alerts delivered to mobile phones to people in threatened areas, grew increasingly ominous in the early morning hours of Friday, urging people to move to higher ground and evacuate flood-prone areas, said Jason Runyen, a meteorologist in the National Weather Service office. At 4:03 a.m., the office issued an urgent warning that raised the potential of catastrophic damage and a severe threat to human life. Jonathan Porter, the chief meteorologist at AccuWeather, a private weather forecasting company that uses National Weather Service data, said it appeared evacuations and other proactive measures could have been undertaken to reduce the risk of fatalities. 'People, businesses and governments should take action based on Flash Flood Warnings that are issued regardless of the rainfall amounts that have occurred or are forecast,' Porter said in a statement. 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Where the office would typically have two forecasters on duty during clear weather they had up to five on staff. 'There were extra people in here that night and that's typical in every weather service office–you staff up for an event and bring people in on overtime and hold people over,' Runyen said.
Arab News
7 hours ago
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Death toll from Texas flooding rises to 27, including nine children
KERRVILLE, Texas: The death toll from catastrophic flooding in the US state of Texas has risen to at least 27, including nine children, local authorities said on Saturday. "So far, we've evacuated over 850 uninjured people, eight injured people and have recovered 27 deceased fatalities at this time. Of these 27, 18 are adults, nine are children," said Kerr Country Sheriff Larry Leitha. A frantic search continued for about two dozen people still missing from a century-old Christian girls' camp in central Texas. In a break for rescue crews, authorities reported that floodwaters were receding in the area around the Guadalupe River, about 37 km northwest of San Antonio, where at least 237 people had been rescued, with more than 100 rescued by helicopter. Another 23 to 25 people from the Camp Mystic summer camp were missing, most of them reported to be young girls. The river waters rose rapidly by 29 feet near the camp. The US National Weather Service stated that the flash flood emergency has largely ended for parts of Kerr County in the south-central Texas Hill Country, around 105 km northwest of San Antonio, following thunderstorms that dumped as much as a foot of rain early on Friday. A flood watch, however, remained in effect until 7 p.m. on Saturday from the San Antonio-Austin, Texas, region, with scattered showers expected throughout the day, said Allison Santorelli, a meteorologist with the NWS Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Maryland. "In terms of the Guadalupe River, the extreme flood waters have receded," she said. "It's no longer at extreme flood stages. And we're not expecting additional impacts." At a news conference late on Friday, almost 18 hours after the July Fourth crisis began, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced that search-and-rescue operations would continue into Saturday. Abbott said resources devoted to the effort would be "limitless." President Donald Trump said that "we'll take care of them" when asked about federal aid for the disaster. Vice President JD Vance on Saturday described the disaster as 'an incomprehensible tragedy.' Dalton Rice, city manager for Kerrville, the county seat, said that the extreme flooding struck before dawn with little or no warning, precluding authorities from issuing advance evacuation orders as the Guadalupe River swiftly rose above major flood stage. "This happened very quickly, over a very short period of time that could not be predicted, even with radar," Rice said. "This happened within less than a two-hour span." State emergency management officials had warned as early as Thursday that west and central Texas faced heavy rains and flash flood threats "over the next couple days," citing National Weather Service forecasts ahead of the holiday weekend. The weather forecasts, however, "did not predict the amount of rain that we saw," said W. Nim Kidd, director of the Texas Division of Emergency Management.
