Latest news with #XavierRamirez
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Mom, Stepdad and 3 More Relatives Go Missing in Texas Flash Floods: 'I'm Trying to Hold It Together,' Son Says
Xavier Ramirez is awaiting the fate of five family members who went missing in the devastating floods in central Texas late last week The family was camping near the Guadalupe River when it overflowed on the Fourth of July, and only one of his cousins made it out 'I'm the only boy, so I'm trying to hold it together for the rest of the family,' Ramirez saidSix of Xavier Ramirez's family members were near the Guadalupe River when it overflowed in the tragic flooding in Texas last week, he said. Only one has come home. Ramirez's mom, Michelle Crossland, stepdad Cody Crossland, uncle Joel Ramos, aunt Tasha Ramos and cousins Kendall Ramos and Devyn Smith were all at HTR Campgrounds outside of Ingram, Texas, when the flooding began on Friday, July 4, according to NBC News. The family had been visiting the camping site since Ramirez was just a boy, the 23-year-old told the outlet. As of Sunday, July 6, one of Ramirez's cousins, 23-year-old Smith, is the only person on the trip who made it out, as far as he knows. She was found in a tree about 20 miles downriver and is now recovering in a hospital, he told NBC News. Now, like so many others, Ramirez is waiting to learn the fate of the rest of his family. All he knows is how they spent their final moments before the floodwaters rose, thanks to his cousin, NBC reported. According to Smith, the family took some precautions as they knew there was extreme weather coming, according to NBC News. They slept in trucks — his aunt and uncle in one and his mother, stepdad and teen cousin in another — Ramirez told the outlet. 'They didn't think it was safe in a tent,' he said. As the river flooded early on Friday, his aunt woke up first and the family then rushed to climb through the truck sunroofs, he told NBC News. His mom, stepdad and Smith reached higher ground with plans to find help. "They lost my uncle first,' Ramirez told NBC News. 'He had tried to keep them all together,' he recalled, but 'couldn't hold on.' On Saturday, July 5, a search led to traces of the camping trip, but not the campers. Ramirez told NBC News that one of the trucks was located in Ingram 'against a tree, crushed and flipped, not far from the campground.' With five of his family members still missing, Ramirez is getting by 'minute to minute, second to second,' he said. That, and he's trying to stay strong for the sake of others. 'I'm the only boy, so I'm trying to hold it together for the rest of the family,' he told NBC News. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. As of Sunday, July 6, more than 50 people, including 28 adults and 15 children, have been killed amid the flash floods, according to NBC News, CNN and The Washington Post. The death toll has steadily risen since Friday and many people are still unaccounted for, including multiple young girls from Camp Mystic, located near the Guadalupe River. Much of the flooding has taken place along the river — which runs from Kerr County to the San Antonio Bay — according to CNN. The region experienced "more than an entire summer's worth of rain" in a matter of hours, the outlet reported. According to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the river climbed to 34.76 feet at around noon local time on July 4. The NOAA described the flooding as "disastrous" and "life threatening," noting that it spread "over a mile across in some areas, flooding many homes,' including "some to the roof." Read the original article on People
Sky News
06-07-2025
- Climate
- Sky News
At least 51 people killed in Texas flooding - five members of one man's family among missing
At least 51 people have died after heavy rain caused flash flooding, with water bursting from the banks of the Guadalupe River in Texas. An unknown number of people remain missing, including 27 girls from Camp Mystic in Kerr County, a Christian summer camp along the Guadalupe River. Xavier Ramirez told NBC News, Sky's US partner network, that five members of his family - his mother, stepfather, uncle, aunt and cousin - were missing following the floods, while another cousin had been found in a tree 20 miles down river from the campground outside the town of Ingram where they had all been staying. Mr Ramirez, 23, from Midland in central Texas, said his uncle had been "lost" to the waters but his mother, stepfather and cousin managed to reach higher ground. One of the trucks the group had taken shelter in was found "in Ingram, against a tree, crushed and flipped, not far from the campground," he said. Rescuers have already saved hundreds of people and would work around the clock to find those still unaccounted for, Texas governor Greg Abbott said. The overflowing water began sweeping into Kerr County and other areas around 4am local time on Friday, killing at least 43 people in the county. This includes at least 15 children and 28 adults - among those are five children and 12 adults pending identification - Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said at a news conference. In nearby Kendall County, one person has died. At least four people were killed in Travis County, while at least two people died in Burnet County. Another person has died in the city of San Angelo in Tom Green County. But as rescue teams are searching for the missing, Texas officials are facing scrutiny over their preparations and why residents and summer camps for children that are dotted along the river were not alerted sooner or told to evacuate. AccuWeather said the private forecasting company and the National Weather Service (NWS) sent warnings about potential flash flooding hours before the devastation, urging people to move to higher ground and evacuate flood-prone areas. The NWS later issued flash flood emergencies - a rare alert notifying of imminent danger. "These warnings should have provided officials with ample time to evacuate camps such as Camp Mystic and get people to safety," AccuWeather said in a statement that called Texas Hill County one of the most flash-flood-prone areas of the US because of its terrain and many water crossings. But one NWS forecast earlier in the week had called for up to six inches of rain, said Nim Kidd, chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management. "It did not predict the amount of rain that we saw," he said. Officials said they had not expected such an intense downpour of rain, equivalent to months' worth in a few short hours, insisting that no one saw the flood potential coming. One river near Camp Mystic rose 22ft in two hours, according to Bob Fogarty, meteorologist with the NWS's Austin/San Antonio office. The gauge failed after recording a level of 29.5ft. "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," Jonathan Porter, chief meteorologist at AccuWeather, said in a statement. "We know we get rain. We know the river rises," said Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly, the county's top elected official. "But nobody saw this coming." Judge Kelly said the county considered a flood warning system along the Guadalupe River that would have functioned like a tornado warning siren about six or seven years ago, before he was elected, but that the idea never got off the ground because "the public reeled at the cost". Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was asked during a news conference on Saturday whether the flash flood warnings came through quickly enough: She said: "We know that everyone wants more warning time, and that is why we are working to upgrade the technologies that have been neglected for far too long." Presidential cuts to climate and weather organisations have also been criticised in the wake of the floods after Donald Trump 's administration ordered 800 job cuts at the science and climate organisation NOAA, the parent organisation of the NWS, which predicts and warns about extreme weather like the Texas floods. A 30% cut to its budget is also in the pipeline, subject to approval by Congress. Professor Costa Samaras, who worked on energy policy at the White House under President Joe Biden, said NOAA had been in the middle of developing new flood maps for neighbourhoods and that cuts to NOAA were "devastating".
Yahoo
06-07-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Man tries to 'hold it together' with 5 family members missing amid Texas flooding
KERRVILLE, Texas — In the sticky Texas heat with night approaching, Xavier Ramirez waited outside Calvary Temple Church hoping for a miracle — that somehow his mom, stepfather, aunt, uncle and cousin weren't swallowed by Texas' bloated Guadalupe River. Ramirez, 23, from Midland, was at the church in Kerrville with weariness in his eyes. He was getting by 'minute to minute, second to second,' he said. One of his cousins, Devyn Smith, who had been at HTR Campgrounds outside Ingram when the Guadalupe River burst from its banks, had been found late Friday and was recovering at Peterson Regional Center, he said. Smith, 23, was found about 20 miles downriver outside Center Point in a tree, Ramirez said. But she was one of six who'd been at the campground outside Ingram in Kerr County. Ramirez said he still was awaiting word of his aunt, Tasha Ramos; another cousin, Kendall Ramos; his stepfather, Cody Crossland; his mother, Michelle Crossland; and his uncle Joel Ramos. The campground had been a destination spot for years, where the family had gone to enjoy the river since he was a small boy, Ramirez said. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, rapidly emerging thunderstorms in the Texas Hill Country produced near 100-year flooding. The Guadalupe River marked 23.4 feet on a flood stage chart, above 'major flooding' indicators, early Friday, according to NOAA. The shocking rise of floodwaters, possibly boosted by a 'flood wave' that rolled along the Guadalupe and could have instantly raised its depth, left vehicles abandoned, mobile homes and businesses totaled and summer camps usually busy with holiday weekend activities wiped of humanity and surrounded by muddy sediment. The devastating flooding has so far claimed the lives of at least 51 people across the state, with dozens more missing, including 27 children who were at Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp for girls. Kerr County has been the hardest hit, with officials there reporting at least 43 deaths, including 15 children, as search and rescue efforts continue. Gov. Greg Abbott, who visited Kerrville on Saturday, declared a state of disaster for 20 Texas counties affected by the flooding and proclaimed Sunday will be a day of prayer for victims of the extreme weather event. He said he has also requested federal disaster relief. Ramirez's family had been asleep when the Guadalupe River's waters began to rise in the early morning hours Friday. 'They slept in the truck. They didn't think it was safe in a tent' because they had heard about the storm, Ramires said, relaying what his cousin had told the family. There were two trucks: his mother and father and teenage cousin in one, and his aunt, uncle and Smith in the other. It was his aunt who awoke first. The family members scrambled to get to the top of the trucks, climbing through sun roofs, Ramirez said. 'They lost my uncle first' to the water's heavy current, Ramirez recalled. 'He had tried to keep them all together and couldn't hold on.' His mother, stepfather and Smith had managed to get to higher ground and had planned to go get help. 'We found their truck in Ingram, against a tree, crushed and flipped, not far from the campground,' he said. His mother's purse was inside when the family found the truck Saturday, after a day of searching. 'I'm the only boy, so I'm trying to hold it together for rest of the family,' Ramirez said. This article was originally published on
