Texas floods: At least 24 dead; search for girls attending summer camp
Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said 24 flood-related fatalities had been confirmed, up from an earlier tally of 13.
Search for girls attending summer camp Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick said on Saturday that authorities were searching for 23 to 25 girls listed as missing from among more than 750 children at summer camp sites along the banks of the Guadalupe River when the area was inundated by floodwaters.
The missing campers had all been attending Camp Mystic, a private summer camp for girls.
Onlookers survey damage along the Guadalupe River after a flash flood swept through the area. Source: AAP / Eric Gay/AP Otherwise, all other campers were safe, authorities said.
'This happened very quickly' "This happened very quickly, over a very short period of time that could not be predicted, even with radar." — Dalton Rice, city manager for Kerrville. Rice told reporters the extreme flooding struck before dawn with little or no warning, precluding authorities from issuing advance evacuation orders.
Pressed by reporters why more precautions were not taken with stormy weather in the forecast, Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly — the top local elected official — insisted a disaster of such magnitude was unforeseen.
Over 200 evacuations, disaster declared As of Saturday afternoon, emergency personnel had rescued or evacuated 237 people, including 167 by helicopter. Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed a disaster declaration to hasten emergency assistance to Kerr and a cluster of additional counties hardest hit by the floods.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News.com.au
42 minutes ago
- News.com.au
Texas flood death toll hits 59, 11 girls, one counsellor still missing
The death toll from the catastrophic Texas Hill Country floods has risen to 59 — with at least 12 people still missing. Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said among those confirmed dead are 38 adults and 21 children, but 18 adult victims and four children have not yet been identified. Mr Leitha said that 11 girls and one counsellor are still missing from Camp Mystic, the Christian girls' summer camp just off the banks of the Guadalupe River. Five campers, ages 8 and 9, have been confirmed dead in the flooding — along with the camp's owner. When asked why the camps weren't evacuated before the water level rose, and whether emergency alerts went out in time, Mr Leitha and city manager Dalton Rice declined to comment, abruptly ending Sunday's 10am press conference. Some 400 first responders from 20 agencies city, state and national are continuing the rescue operation in Kerr County, which saw the worst of the flash flooding along the river. 'We will continue our search efforts until everyone is found,' Mr Leitha assured. The three victims identified Saturday include a high school soccer coach and his wife and a beloved high school teacher. Reece Zunker, a soccer coach in Tivy, Texas, and his wife Paula, who were on vacation with their two children when the flooding swept through Kerr County Friday, were among the latest victims identified by officials. 'Our Tivy Soccer & KISD community is heartbroken with the loss of our leader and inspiration,' Tivy Boys Soccer wrote on Facebook Saturday night.'The Coach Reece Zunker was not just a soccer coach he was a mentor, teacher and a role model for our Kerrville kids.' Local outlet the Kerrville Daily Times reported that the two children were still missing. The family had been staying in a river house in the town of Hunt, not far from Camp Mystic. Also confirmed among the dead is Jeff Wilson, a teacher at Kingswood Park High School who taught in the Humble Independent School District for 30 years, the school wrote on X. 'Tonight our [Humble Independent School District] family is grieving the devastating loss of teacher Jeff Wilson, who passed away due to the catastrophic flooding in Kerrville,' the mourning social media post read. 'He was a beloved teacher and co-worker to many and will be deeply missed.' The district added that Wilson's brother-in-law shared that his wife, Amber, and son, Shiloh are still considered missing. 'Please continue to keep their entire family, and ours, in your prayers,' the district urged. Officials will provide the latest on the rescue effort in a press conference scheduled for 4 p.m. EDT Sunday (6am Monday AET). The camp, which hosts up to 750 girls aged seven to 17, was overwhelmed by the floodwaters, which at one point saw the river swell by eight metres in just 45 minutes. 'The camp was completely destroyed,' Elinor Lester, 13, one of the evacuated campers, told The Associated Press. 'A helicopter landed and started taking people away. It was really scary.' The family of Mystic's director, Dick Eastland, confirmed he heroically died while trying to save the young girls from the storm. Mr Eastland raced to one of the camp's 23 cabins when the floodwater swept it away early Friday morning, Channel2Now reported. He had been involved with the private all-girls Christian camp since purchasing it in 1974 with his wife Tweety. His nephew confirmed his death via Facebook. Former camper Paige Sumner said Mr Eastland and 'was the father figure to all of us while we were away from home at Camp Mystic for six weeks'. 'He was the father of four amazing boys, but he had hundreds of girls each term who looked up to him like a dad,' she wrote. 'I would never have taken a fishing class if it wasn't taught by my new friend Dick.' Harrowing photographs showed the damage wrought by the floodwaters, which reached the middle of the windows of the cabins where the girls slept, and higher than the bunk beds. Entire walls were ripped off the buildings, trees uprooted and the girls' belongings tossed into shrubbery. The National Weather Service first issued a flash flood watch at 1.18pm on Thursday estimating up to seven inches of rising water. At 1.14am, a 'life threatening' flash flood warning was issued for about 30,000 people, the Texas Tribune reported. Grilled about the suddenness of the flooding overnight and why more precautions weren't taken, Judge Rob Kelly, the chief elected official in Kerr County, told reporters 'we do not have a warning system' and that 'we didn't know this flood was coming'. 'Rest assured, no one knew this kind of flood was coming,' he said. 'We have floods all the time. This is the most dangerous river valley in the United States.' The camp is currently without power or internet. A statement from its administrators, read out by the Lieutenant governor, stressed that the level of flooding was 'catastrophic'. 'The highway has washed away, so we are struggling to get more help,' the camp said. The communications problems are being exacerbated by the camp's rule of imposing a ban on technology for the children staying there. 'Technology is actually not allowed there,' said NewsNation reporter Tracy Walder, whose daughter is friends with some of the missing kids. 'That's why communication and information is kind of a bit difficult to come by.' Mr Abbott, in a written statement, said Texas was 'providing all necessary resources to Kerrville, Ingram, Hunt and the entire Texas Hill Country dealing with these devastating floods'. 'The state of Texas today has mobilised additional resources in addition to the resources sent in preparation for the storms. I urge Texans to heed guidance from state and local officials and monitor local forecasts to avoid driving into flooded areas.' Texas Senator Ted Cruz, asked his followers on social media to 'pray right now' for all involved, 'especially Camp Mystic'. 'It's terrible, the floods,' US President Donald Trump told reporters Friday night. 'It's shocking.' Asked if Texas would receive federal aid, he said: 'Oh yeah, sure, we'll take care of it. We're working with the governor.' In a post on Truth Social on Saturday, Mr Trump said the federal government was working with state and local officials in response to the 'tragic flooding'. 'Our Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, will be there shortly,' he wrote. 'Melania and I are praying for all of the families impacted by this horrible tragedy. Our Brave First Responders are on site doing what they do best. GOD BLESS THE FAMILIES, AND GOD BLESS TEXAS!' Meanwhile, officials are warning residents of the area to continue being vigilant. 'The rain has let up, but we know there's another wave coming,' Mr Martin said, adding that more rain would be hitting areas around the cities San Antonio and Austin. Forecasters issued a flood warning for one county, urging those living near the Guadalupe River to 'move to higher ground'. Flash floods, which occur when the ground is unable to absorb torrential rainfall, are not unusual in the region.
The Australian
4 hours ago
- The Australian
Desperate search for missing girls as Texas flood death toll rises
Rescuers in Texas raced against time Sunday to find dozens of missing people, including children, swept away by flash floods that killed at least 59, as forecasters warned of new deluges. Local Texans joined forces with disaster officials to search through the night for the missing, including 27 girls from a riverside Christian summer camp. The rain-swollen waters of the Guadalupe River reached tree tops and the roofs of cabins in the camp as girls slept, washing away some of them and leaving a scene of devastation. At the camp in Kerr County, blankets, teddy bears and other belongings ended up caked in mud. Windows in the cabins were shattered, apparently by the force of the water. Texas Governor Greg Abbott said Camp Mystic on the banks of the Guadalupe River, where some 750 girls had been staying when the floodwaters hit, had been "horrendously ravaged in ways unlike I've seen in any natural disaster." "We won't stop until we find every girl who was in those cabins," he said in a post on social media platform X after a visit to the site. Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick said heavy rain likely to cause more flooding was falling Sunday as the death toll at the camp and elsewhere rose to at least 59. "We expect that to go higher, sadly," Patrick told Fox News Sunday. The National Weather Service (NWS) warned Sunday that slow-moving thunderstorms threatened more flash floods over the saturated ground of central Texas. The flooding began Friday -- the start of the Fourth of July holiday weekend -- as months' worth of rain fell in a matter of hours, much of it coming overnight as people slept. The Guadalupe surged some 26 feet (eight meters) -- more than a two-story building- in just 45 minutes. Some of the fatalities were found in counties away from the tragedy at the summer camp. The owner and director of Camp Mystic was among the dead, according to the Kerrville website, as was the manager of another nearby summer camp. Flash floods, which occur when the ground is unable to absorb torrential rainfall, are not unusual. The region of south and central Texas where the weekend's deluge occurred is known colloquially as "Flash Flood Alley." But scientists say that in recent years human-driven climate change has made extreme weather events such as floods, droughts and heat waves more frequent and more intense. - Cars, houses swept away - Department of Homeland Security head Kristi Noem said the US Coast Guard was "punching through storms" to evacuate stranded residents. "We will fly throughout the night and as long as possible," she said in a post on X. Air, ground and water-based crews were scouring the length of the Guadalupe River for survivors and the bodies of the dead. In Kerrville on Saturday, the usually calm Guadalupe was flowing fast, its murky waters filled with debris. "The water reached the top of the trees. About 10 meters or so," said resident Gerardo Martinez, 61. "Cars, whole houses were going down the river." Scientists and disaster management agencies have criticized US President Donald Trump, for cutting funding and staffing at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), in charge of weather forecasts and preparedness, and the NWS. Noem earlier said Trump, who was at his Bedminster, New Jersey golf club on Sunday, wanted to "upgrade the technologies" at the weather service and the NOAA. "We need to renew this ancient system," Noem told a press conference. When asked about claims that residents were given insufficient warning, Noem said she would "carry your concerns back to the federal government." burs-dw/st
News.com.au
4 hours ago
- News.com.au
Desperate search for missing girls as Texas flood death toll rises
Rescuers in Texas raced against time Sunday to find dozens of missing people, including children, swept away by flash floods that killed at least 59, as forecasters warned of new deluges. Local Texans joined forces with disaster officials to search through the night for the missing, including 27 girls from a riverside Christian summer camp. The rain-swollen waters of the Guadalupe River reached tree tops and the roofs of cabins in the camp as girls slept, washing away some of them and leaving a scene of devastation. At the camp in Kerr County, blankets, teddy bears and other belongings ended up caked in mud. Windows in the cabins were shattered, apparently by the force of the water. Texas Governor Greg Abbott said Camp Mystic on the banks of the Guadalupe River, where some 750 girls had been staying when the floodwaters hit, had been "horrendously ravaged in ways unlike I've seen in any natural disaster." "We won't stop until we find every girl who was in those cabins," he said in a post on social media platform X after a visit to the site. Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick said heavy rain likely to cause more flooding was falling Sunday as the death toll at the camp and elsewhere rose to at least 59. "We expect that to go higher, sadly," Patrick told Fox News Sunday. The National Weather Service (NWS) warned Sunday that slow-moving thunderstorms threatened more flash floods over the saturated ground of central Texas. The flooding began Friday -- the start of the Fourth of July holiday weekend -- as months' worth of rain fell in a matter of hours, much of it coming overnight as people slept. The Guadalupe surged some 26 feet (eight meters) -- more than a two-story building- in just 45 minutes. Some of the fatalities were found in counties away from the tragedy at the summer camp. The owner and director of Camp Mystic was among the dead, according to the Kerrville website, as was the manager of another nearby summer camp. Flash floods, which occur when the ground is unable to absorb torrential rainfall, are not unusual. The region of south and central Texas where the weekend's deluge occurred is known colloquially as "Flash Flood Alley." But scientists say that in recent years human-driven climate change has made extreme weather events such as floods, droughts and heat waves more frequent and more intense. - Cars, houses swept away - Department of Homeland Security head Kristi Noem said the US Coast Guard was "punching through storms" to evacuate stranded residents. "We will fly throughout the night and as long as possible," she said in a post on X. Air, ground and water-based crews were scouring the length of the Guadalupe River for survivors and the bodies of the dead. In Kerrville on Saturday, the usually calm Guadalupe was flowing fast, its murky waters filled with debris. "The water reached the top of the trees. About 10 meters or so," said resident Gerardo Martinez, 61. "Cars, whole houses were going down the river." Scientists and disaster management agencies have criticized US President Donald Trump, for cutting funding and staffing at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), in charge of weather forecasts and preparedness, and the NWS. Noem earlier said Trump, who was at his Bedminster, New Jersey golf club on Sunday, wanted to "upgrade the technologies" at the weather service and the NOAA. "We need to renew this ancient system," Noem told a press conference. When asked about claims that residents were given insufficient warning, Noem said she would "carry your concerns back to the federal government."
