Death toll rises to at least 104 in catastrophic Texas flooding
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Record
5 hours ago
- Daily Record
The tiny Scots village where a Saint 'slew a dragon' and 20ft shrine honours witch
This small village has roots in the Iron Age, with a Roman camp and a name linked to an ancient hillfort Just 10 miles from the city of Perth lies a village with fewer than 1,000 residents and a past packed with myth, mystery, and moments of destruction and rebirth. Dunning may be small, but its history stretches back to the Iron Age and encompasses the Roman invasion of Britain, the Jacobite rebellions, and early Christian legends and stories of powerful relics and lost lives. The village's name is thought to come from the Old Irish word dúnán, meaning 'little fort', likely referring to an ancient hillfort that once stood in the area, The Express reports. By the first century AD, the Romans had established a camp here, marking it as a place of strategic importance. Part of a rampart from the encampment still survives to this day in Kincladie Wood. One of the most enduring legends tells of Saint Serf, a key figure in Catholic, Scottish Episcopal and Eastern Orthodox tradition from the 6th Century. The second son of the King of Canaan, he moved to Rome where he served as Pope for seven years before vacating the Holy See. He travelled to Britain and settled in Scotland, with his ministry centred in Culross, according to tradition. And legend tells that he slew a dragon in Dunning, using his pastoral staff, It is a tale that still echoes through the region, with the parish church being named St Serf's Kirk in his honour. The church, originally built in the 12th century and mostly rebuilt in the early 1800s, closed in 1972 and is now managed by Historic Scotland. It is open to the public and houses the Dupplin Cross, a towering and intricately carved Pictish stone dating from around 800 AD. Locals fought to keep the cross in the village when proposals were made to relocate it, and their efforts paid off. Today, it remains a powerful symbol of Dunning's long-standing spiritual and cultural identity. But Dunning's past is not only marked by legend, it has also endured real trauma. On the night of January 28, 1716, amid the collapse of the 1715 Jacobite uprising, Jacobite troops, reportedly under orders from John Erskine, 23rd Earl of Mar, set fire to the village, destroying homes, farms and barns. Why Dunning was targeted remains unclear, especially as the rebellion was faltering rapidly after the inconclusive Battle of Sheriffmuir months earlier. Just two days after the attack, the Jacobites abandoned their stronghold in Perth, and within a week, James Stuart, 'The Old Pretender', and the Earl of Mar fled Scotland for France. Neither would ever return. The village's recovery was slow, but a major turning point came in 1792, when a new village plan was laid out for Lord Rollo. Dunning began to flourish once again, and by the 1850s it was thriving. Today, it boasts 108 listed buildings, a testament to its architectural and historical importance. Among Dunning's most intriguing features is a stone monument just outside the village. Built on what was once the parkland of Duncrub Castle, it stands nearly 20ft high and bears the chilling inscription: 'Maggie Wall burnt here 1657 as a witch.' Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. The Maggie Wall memorial has become something of a shrine, with visitors leaving flowers, candles and trinkets. Yet her story is shrouded in uncertainty. Although an estimated 1,500 people, mostly women, were executed as witches in Scotland between the 1500s and 1700s, there is no record of anyone named Maggie Wall being tried or executed. Some believe she symbolises all women accused of witchcraft, while others think her story may simply have been lost to history. Today, getting to Dunning requires a car or a bus from Perth, as the local railway station closed in 1956, more than a century after it opened. Although a section of the Scottish Central Railway still runs nearby, trains no longer stop in the village.
NBC News
17 hours ago
- NBC News
Death toll rises to at least 104 in catastrophic Texas flooding
At least 104 people are dead after catastrophic flooding ravaged central Texas on July 4. A century-old Christian camp for girls, Camp Mystic, confirmed 27 of its campers and counselors are among the dead and missing. NBC News' Tom Llamas reports on the lives lost and remarkable stories of 7, 2025
NBC News
17 hours ago
- NBC News
Search crews scour West Texas for signs of life after devastating floods
INGRAM, Texas — Samuel Cummings spent much of Monday wading through knee-high floodwaters, trudging across muddy fields, digging into mounds of dirt and slashing through thickets of brush with a chain saw. But the physical demands of the search and recovery efforts near flood-battered Kerrville were nothing compared with the emotional gut punch of what Cummings saw strewn underfoot: girls' Crocs and tennis shoes, volleyballs and water bottles. The objects are the tragic remnants of Camp Mystic, where 27 girls and counselors died in flash floods that ripped through West Texas over the weekend, leaving at least 104 people dead or missing across six counties. 'That's where you start to get choked up,' said Cummings, who spoke to NBC News roughly 5 miles downstream of Camp Mystic as helicopters circled overhead. Cummings, 22, a recent college graduate who lives in Corpus Christi, jumped in his Ford truck and headed straight for the flood-ravaged region Sunday night. He grew up in Kerrville and swam in the Guadalupe River as a kid. He wanted to help. He felt he had no choice. The monstrous floods abruptly tore through West Texas overnight Friday during the Fourth of July holiday weekend, inundating buildings, trapping residents in their homes and leaving a trail of death in their wake. Cummings and other volunteer search crews fanned out across West Texas on Monday. They sawed through knocked-down trees, rummaged through heaps of debris and searched for survivors — even as hopes of finding people alive dimmed. Brandie Masters, who lives in nearby Mountain Head with her husband, Jared, felt it was her responsibility to assist in the aftermath. Jared spent part of Monday behind the wheel of an excavator, digging through 'piles and piles and piles' of debris, Masters said. She stayed on foot, scouring the muck for any signs of life. She hasn't yet found any bodies, but she has encountered grim reminders of the young lives lost: kayaks, sports gear, little girls' clothes. Masters, 42, doesn't know when she and Jared will return home. They plan to 'stay as long as it takes.' They might sleep in their car overnight. 'A lot of men are out here working really hard to recover families,' Masters said. 'God is ultimately in control. Everyone just needs to pray.' Dennis Price, founder and CEO of Heroes for Humanity, a nonprofit organization that sends out veterans, first responders, medical personnel and other crews after disasters, described surreal scenes, including a dead cow stuck high in a tree. Price also saw '60 to 80 RVs pinned up against trees,' some stacked 'about 20 feet high with fallen trees, other debris and just pieces of vehicles smashed up, torn up and then flipped over.' He said his volunteers in the hardest-hit areas told him Monday they found two pairs of bodies as part of their rescue and recovery efforts. One of the team members put on his amphibious gear and 'went down into a river and pulled out two family members.' Two more people were found along the riverbank, he said. 'It's a massive tragedy. We feel for the families. We feel for all these people, and we keep them in our prayers. That's why we support every way we can,' he said. Mark Edwards, field operations manager for the nonprofit group Texas EquuSearch, deployed more than 120 trained volunteers on horseback, in ATVs and on foot to look for survivors and victims. The team included Robert Crow, a member of Tejas Vaqueros, a riding group from Houston. 'I have two daughters. I know what it feels like. I don't know what it feels like to lose them,' Crow said as he threw blankets over his horse, Peaches. Edwards is an experienced search-and-rescue professional whose teams coordinate with law enforcement. But disaster aftermath still takes an emotional toll, he said, even if it takes some time to absorb. 'I've learned to have a trigger switch. I'll fall apart later,' Edwards said.
