Hundreds gather at high school stadium to honor the many lost to deadly Texas floods
While search crews and volunteers pushed ahead with recovering those unaccounted for, communities in the devastated Hill Country region are just beginning to grieve those lost over the July Fourth holiday.
Mourners gathered Wednesday night at Tivy High School's stadium, where they had celebrated victories and suffered losses on the field, said Ricky Pruitt, of the Kerrville Church of Christ.
'Tonight is very different than all of those nights,' he said. Among those who died was the school's soccer coach.
Many wore blue shirts with the school's slogan, 'Tivy Fight Never Die,' and green ribbons for Camp Mystic, the century-old all-girls Christian summer camp where at least 27 campers and counselors died. Officials said five campers and one counselor have still not been found.
More than 170 people are believed to be missing across central Texas, most in Kerr County, where nearly 100 victims have been recovered.
Authorities say they have carefully gone over the list of those unaccounted for but those numbers are often tough to pin down in the immediate aftermath of a disaster.
Parents of children who were at the many summer camps in Hill Country have credited the teenage counselors with ushering campers to safety and helping keeping them calm during the chaos.
The catastrophe is the deadliest inland flooding in the U.S. since 1976, when Colorado's Big Thompson Canyon flooded, killing 144 people, said Bob Henson, a meteorologist with Yale Climate Connections.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott called on state lawmakers to approve funding for new warning systems and emergency communications in flood prone areas when the Legislature meets later this month. Abbott also asked for financial relief for the response and recovery efforts.
'We must ensure better preparation for such events in the future,' he said in a statement Wednesday.
Public officials in the area have come under repeated criticism amid questions about the timeline of what happened and why widespread warnings were not sounded and more preparations were not made.
Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha has said those questions will be answered after the victims are recovered.
Local leaders have talked for years about the need for a flood warning system, but concerns about costs and noise led to missed opportunities to put up sirens.
President Donald Trump has pledged to provide whatever relief Texas needs to recover and is planning to visit the state Friday.
Polls taken before the floods show Americans largely believe the federal government should play a major role in preparing for and responding to natural disasters.
Catastrophic flooding is a growing worry. On Tuesday, a deluge in New Mexico triggered flash floods that killed three people.
After the ceremony in Kerrville on Wednesday, children and families mingled on the field, and some students formed prayer circles. Counselors and therapists were also on hand.
Andrew Brown, who wanted to pay tribute to the school's soccer coach, said he believes a warning system with sirens would be helpful.
'I'm sure there are things that could have been different, and I'm sure there will be going forward,' he said.
David Garza drove more than an hour to support loved ones affected by the floods.
'I'm from here, and I was here in the '78 flood and the '87 flood,' Garza said. 'I just wanted to be a part of this.'
Lathan, Murphy, and Golden write for the Associated Press. AP writers John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio; Jim Vertuno in Austin, and John Hanna in Topeka, Kan., contributed to this report.
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New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
Grief and Prayer at Texas Churches: ‘Lord, Turn Off the Floodgates'
Scott Warner's phone beeped loudly with a flash flood warning just before 8 a.m. on Sunday, as storm clouds marched through the Texas Hill Country and began dropping torrents of rain. The Hill Country is still reeling from catastrophic floods that began July 4, and the new alert made him flinch, he said. So does hearing words that once evoked nothing but joy, he said: Camp. River. Rain. 'We're not the same as we were before the Fourth of July,' Mr. Warner, the senior minister at Kerrville Church of Christ, told the roughly 50 people gathered in its pews Sunday morning. 'We're hurting, we're downtrodden, we're suffering. We're crushed in a lot of ways spiritually. We got anxiety, we got fear, we got sorrow.' People in Central Texas trickled into churches on Sunday looking for solace after so much destruction battered their region. The floods that struck over the July 4 holiday weekend killed at least 129 people, including at least 36 children. Officials say that at least 170 more people are still unaccounted for. Kerrville is the county seat and largest city of Kerr County, where most of the deaths occurred. Thousands of searchers continued to look on Sunday for victims of the flood, when the fresh rain falling on the region allowed. But the chances of finding more of the missing were dimming as the search dragged into a 10th day. The heartbreak has seemed ceaseless, local residents say — a feeling underscored by the thunderstorms that bore down again on Sunday, threatening further destruction and forcing many people to stay home from church services. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
CNBC
2 hours ago
- CNBC
Search for Texas flood victims briefly paused as heavy rains bring new threat of high water
More heavy rains in Texas on Sunday temporarily paused a weeklong search for victims of catastrophic flooding along the Guadalupe River and led to high-water rescues elsewhere as officials warned that the downpours could again cause waterways to surge. It was the first time a new round of severe weather had paused the search since the July Fourth floods, which killed at least 129 people. Authorities believe more than 160 people may still be missing in Kerr County alone, and 10 more in neighboring areas. In Kerrville, where local officials have come under scrutiny over the failure to adequately warn residents about the rising water in the early morning hours of July 4, authorities went door-to-door to some homes after midnight early Sunday to alert people that flooding was again possible. Authorities also pushed phone alerts to those in the area. During the pause in searches, Ingram Fire Department officials ordered crews to immediately evacuate the Guadalupe River corridor in Kerr County, warning the potential for a flash flood is high. Late Sunday afternoon, the Kerr County Sheriff's Office announced that search teams in the western part of that county could resume their efforts. The Ingram Fire Department would resume their search and rescue efforts Monday morning, said agency spokesman Brian Lochte. Gov. Greg Abbott said on X that the state was making rescues in San Saba, Lampasas and Schleicher counties and that evacuations were taking place in a handful of others. Texas Task Force 1, a joint state and federal urban search and rescue team, had rescued dozens of people in the Lampasas area, Abbott said. The latest round of flooding damaged about 100 homes and knocked down untold lengths of cattle fencing, said Ashley Johnson, CEO of the Hill Country Community Action Association, a San Saba-based nonprofit. "Anything you can imagine in a rural community was damaged," she said. "Our blessing is it was daylight and we knew it was coming." With more rain on the way, county officials ordered everyone living in flood-prone areas near the San Saba River to evacuate. Johnson said people were being moved to the San Saba Civic Center, which has become a safe, high place for people to receive aid and shelter. "Everyone is in some way personally affected by this," she said. "Everyone is just doing what they can to help their neighbors." The weather system brought multiple rounds of heavy rains and slow-moving storms across a widespread area, pushing rivers and streams over their banks. Heading into the afternoon and evening, the heaviest rains were expected along the I-35 corridor and east, said meteorologist Patricia Sanchez from the National Weather Service's Fort Worth office. "A few spots might see up to 2 to 4 (inches per hour), pretty much through the evening, before the rain, the coverage of rain and the intensity of the rain, slowly decreases," Sanchez said. Forecasters warned that the Guadalupe River could rise to nearly 15 feet (4.6 meters) by Sunday afternoon, about five feet above flood stage and enough to put the Highway 39 bridge under water in Hunt, the small town where Camp Mystic is located along the river. "Numerous secondary roads and bridges are flooded and very dangerous," a weather service warning said. The rains were also causing other waterways to swell further north in Texas, where emergency crews rescued one motorist who was left stranded in waist-high rapids on a submerged bridge over the Bosque River. The man leaned onto the vehicle for support as crews tried to reach him with life jackets. "He drove into it and didn't realize how deep it was," said Jeff Douglas, president of the McGregor Volunteer Fire Department. "Luckily he was able to stand next to the vehicle." In the west Texas city of Sonora, authorities called for evacuations of some neighborhoods due to rising flood waters. In a video posted Sunday afternoon on Facebook, Mayor Juanita Gomez said some water rescues had taken place and a temporary shelter for residents had been opened in the city's civic center. Sonora is located about 110 miles (177 kilometers) northwest of Kerrville. Under heavy rain, Matthew Stone was clearing branches and a log from a storm sewer in front of his home on Guadalupe Street in Kerrville on Sunday as several inches of water pooled up on the road. Multiple houses on the street overlooking the Guadalupe River were severely impacted by the July 4 floods, and Stone had to pull his older neighbors from their home before water overtook it. He said he felt safe for now. "My wife was freaking out, that's for sure, but as long as that river is not coming down, we'll be all right," he said. "The cops have been coming back and forth, we're getting lots of alerts, we're getting a lot of support." Just before daybreak on the Fourth of July, the destructive, fast-moving waters rose 26 feet (8 meters) on the Guadalupe River, washing away homes and vehicles. Ever since, searchers have used helicopters, boats and drones to look for victims and to rescue people stranded in trees and from camps isolated by washed-out roads. The floods laid waste to the Hill Country region of Texas. The riverbanks and hills of Kerr County are filled with vacation cabins, youth camps and campgrounds, including Camp Mystic, the century-old, all-girls Christian summer camp. Located in a low-lying area along the Guadalupe River in a region known as flash flood alley, Camp Mystic lost at least 27 campers and counselors. The flood was far more severe than the 100-year event envisioned by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, experts said, and moved so quickly in the middle of the night that it caught many off guard in a county that lacked a warning system. The sheer amount of rain was overwhelming. Former NOAA chief scientist Ryan Maue, a private meteorologist, calculated on July 5 that the storm had dropped 120 billion gallons of water on Kerr County, which received the brunt of the storm.
New York Post
5 hours ago
- New York Post
Camp Mystic survivors heard screams in the dark as flood waters hit hours earlier than previously thought
Camp Mystic survivors have described hearing the terrifying screams of their fellow campers in the dark as they were swept up in the devastating July 4 Texas floods. The flooding struck around 3 a.m. — much earlier than previously reported, according to the Wall Street Journal. One survivor recounted how counselors told the girls that all of the younger children had been moved to safety beforehand. In reality they were fighting for their lives — and at least 27 were swept away to their deaths. Many of the 650 campers and staffers at Camp Mystic were asleep when, at 1:14 a.m., a flash-flood warning for Kerr County, Texas, with 'catastrophic' potential for loss of life was issued by the National Weather Service. Amelia Moore, 14, one of the older girls at the century-old Christian girls' summer camp, was awakened at around 2 a.m. by a clap of thunder, an hour before the power went out. 7 Campers at Camp Mystic have described hearing the screaming of girls trapped in flooded cabins. Getty Images She could hear screaming coming from the girls in some of the cabins further downhill, directly in the floodway of the Guadalupe River in an area known as the Flats, but was told to ignore it and stay in her cabin, she claimed. 'A lot of counselors had been here for so long they thought it was nothing. So they were like, 'Just stay in the cabin,'' Amelia told the WSJ. But as other girls began to crowd into their cabin, describing how theirs were filling with water, she realized this was not a normal summer storm. 7 A plush toy belonging to a camper found after the flood waters subsided. AFP via Getty Images Eventually, she fell back to sleep, but then awoke at 7 a.m. to find that Senior Hill, where many of the older campers were located, had been cut off by floodwaters and downed trees. They were stuck for hours without food or any way of contacting the outside world, due to Camp Mystic's strict rules on not allowing campers to keep snacks or their cellphones in their cabins. 7 The Post's July 6 front page after the horror in Central Texas. 'We were so hungry. We were starving. As the day goes on, we were like, 'Does anyone have food that they smuggled in? You won't get in trouble. We just need food,'' Amelia recalled. The girls were wrongly told that the younger campers had all been safely taken to another campsite and were fine, although whether this was due to the counselors trying to prevent panic or whether they didn't know the truth is unclear. 7 Flooding was worst in many of the cabins belonging to the younger campers. AFP via Getty Images Campers staying in Chatterbox, one of the cabins in the flatlands housing the youngest campers, were forced to climb through a window and up a rocky hill in the dark, some of them barefoot and still in pajamas, Amelia said. 'This is the part that makes me sick. Because the whole time we were told that the flats were safe and accounted for in Rec Hall. We were told they were playing games in Rec Hall and that they were perfectly fine,' Amelia said. 7 Rescue workers pray amid the desperate search for survivors in Texas. AP 'We should have been a lot more panicked in the situation but we genuinely didn't know that anything was wrong,' she added. Amelia described chaotic scenes in the hours that followed, with the first rescue helicopter not touching down until around 3 p.m., more than 12 hours after the flooding began. 7 Last week's flooding came hours earlier than expected. AFP via Getty Images As the aircraft could only accommodate a few people at a time, the evacuation was painfully slow, and it wasn't clear who was in charge, according to Amelia. 'It was hectic. There were counselors but no one on that hill was over 21 years old,' Amelia said. 7 Campers were wrongly told all the young girls had been moved to safety. AP Tempers flared as new girls arrived and jumped the line, while counselors tried to arrange the order of evacuation from youngest to oldest, Amelia said. Organizers of the camp did not respond immediately to requests for comment.
