Desperate search for missing girls as nearly 80 dead in Texas floods
Larry Leitha, the Kerr County Sheriff in Texas Hill Country, said 68 people had died in flooding in his county, the epicenter of the flooding, among them 28 children. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, speaking at a news conference on Sunday afternoon, said another 10 had died elsewhere in Texas and confirmed 41 were missing.
President Donald Trump sent his condolences to the victims and said he would probably visit the area on Friday. His administration had been in touch with Abbott, he added.
"It's a horrible thing that took place, absolutely horrible. So we say, God bless all of the people that have gone through so much, and God bless, God bless the state of Texas," he told reporters as he left New Jersey.
Among the most devastating impacts of the flooding occurred at Camp Mystic summer camp, a nearly century-old Christian girls camp where 10 Camp Mystic campers and one counselor were still missing, according to Leitha.
"It was nothing short of horrific to see what those young children went through," said Abbott, who noted he toured the area on Saturday and pledged to continue efforts to locate the missing.
The flooding occurred after the nearby Guadalupe River broke its banks after torrential rain fell in the central Texas area on Friday, the U.S. Independence Day holiday.
Texas Division of Emergency Management Chief Nim Kidd said the destruction killed three people in Burnet county, one in Tom Green county, five in Travis county and one in Williamson county.
"You will see the death toll rise today and tomorrow," said Freeman Martin, director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, also speaking on Sunday.
Officials said on Saturday that more than 850 people had been rescued, including some clinging to trees, after a sudden storm dumped up to 38 centimeters of rain across the region, about 140 kilometers northwest of San Antonio.
Kidd said he was receiving unconfirmed reports of "an additional wall of water" flowing down some of the creeks in the Guadalupe Rivershed, as rain continued to fall on soil in the region already saturated from Friday's rains.
He said aircraft were sent aloft to scout for additional floodwaters, while search-and-rescue personnel who might be in harm's way were alerted to pull back from the river in the meantime.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency was activated on Sunday and is deploying resources to first responders in Texas after Trump issued a major disaster declaration, the Department of Homeland Security said. U.S. Coast Guard helicopters and planes were aiding search and rescue efforts.
An animal's carcass hangs in a tree, following flash flooding, in Hunt, Texas, on Sunday. |
REUTERS
Trump has previously outlined plans to scale back the federal government's role in responding to natural disasters, leaving states to shoulder more of the burden themselves.
Some experts questioned whether cuts to the federal workforce by the Trump administration, including to the agency that oversees the National Weather Service, led to a failure by officials to accurately predict the severity of the floods and issue appropriate warnings ahead of the storm.
Trump's administration has overseen thousands of job cuts from the National Weather Service's parent agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, leaving many weather offices understaffed, former NOAA director Rick Spinrad said.
Spinrad said he did not know if those staff cuts factored into the lack of advance warning for the extreme Texas flooding, but that they would inevitably degrade the agency's ability to deliver accurate and timely forecasts.
Trump pushed back when asked on Sunday if federal government cuts hobbled the disaster response or left key job vacancies at the National Weather Service under Trump's oversight.
"That water situation, that all is, and that was really the Biden setup," he said referencing his Democratic predecessor, Joe Biden. "But I wouldn't blame Biden for it, either. I would just say this is 100-year catastrophe."
He declined to answer a question about FEMA, saying only: "They're busy working, so we'll leave it at that."
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who oversees FEMA and NOAA, said a "moderate" flood watch issued on Thursday by the National Weather Service had not accurately predicted the extreme rainfall and said the Trump administration was working to upgrade the system.
Rep. Joaquin Castro, a Democratic U.S. congressman from Texas, told CNN's "State of the Union" program that fewer personnel at the weather service could be dangerous.
"When you have flash flooding, there's a risk that if you don't have the personnel ... to do that analysis, do the predictions in the best way, it could lead to tragedy," Castro said.
Katharine Somerville, a counselor on the Cypress Lake side of Camp Mystic, on higher ground than the Guadalupe River side, said her 13-year-old campers were scared as their cabins sustained damage and lost power in the middle of the night.
"Our cabins at the tippity top of hills were completely flooded with water. I mean, y'all have seen the complete devastation, we never even imagined that this could happen," Somerville said in an interview on Fox News on Sunday.
Somerville said the campers in her care were put on military trucks and evacuated, and that all were safe.
The disaster unfolded rapidly on Friday morning as heavier-than-forecast rain drove river waters rapidly to as high as 9 meters.
A day after the disaster struck, the summer camp, where 700 girls were in residence at the time of the flooding, was a scene of devastation. Inside one cabin, mud lines indicating how high the water had risen were at least 1.83 meters from the floor. Bed frames, mattresses and personal belongings caked with mud were scattered inside. Some buildings had broken windows, one had a missing wall.
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Crews in central Texas are digging through massive piles of debris, overturned vehicles and shattered homes for a sixth day as the search continues for victims of flash floods that killed more than 100 people over the Fourth of July weekend. At least 160 people are still missing in Kerr Country, the hardest-hit area of the Texas Hill Country. Officials say no one has been found alive since July 4, when the deluge arrived in the predawn hours, tearing through a 100-kilometer stretch of the Guadalupe River packed with vacationers. The waters inundated storied summer camps including Camp Mystic, where at least 27 children and counselors died. Sheriff Larry Leitha said 2,100 people are involved in the response, and the death toll in Kerr County alone has reached 95. Authorities said they're concentrating their efforts in areas around the river that are choked with debris. Crews are using excavators and skid loaders to comb through heaps of trees, homes and wreckage in search of victims. More harrowing stories emerged from survivors, while demands grew for a fuller accounting of why more people didn't get advance warning of the risks even as the National Weather Service sent out urgent alerts. Authorities have resisted discussing the specifics of the local response in the lead-up to the floods, saying the focus needed to be on recovery efforts. Rena Bailey, 77, may have been saved by her habit of watching online storm maps when foul weather arrives. She was awake in the early morning hours of July 4 as thunderstorms pummeled her house in Hunt, Texas, monitoring the storm's progress. Her home — where she's lived since 1990 — is normally a short walk from the riverbank and is raised about six feet above ground level. "I went outside, and I noticed the water in the driveway was like about a foot high, and I thought, 'Hmm, that's weird, I've never seen that before.'' Bailey recalled in an interview. "Then, all of a sudden, it jumped up. And I saw the Hunt Store and heard it start to disintegrate. I saw the post office start to disintegrate, the office next to it and then this wall of water.' She said she woke her husband, and they watched the propane tanks from a gas station float past. As the water climbed in their house, she said her husband helped her out a window, and they climbed to higher ground. Flood-ravaged Camp Mystic in Hunt, Texas, on Wednesday. Crews in central Texas are digging through massive piles of debris, overturned vehicles and shattered homes for a sixth day as the search continues for victims of flash floods that killed more than 100 people over the Fourth of July weekend. | Bloomberg She said she got a number of weather alerts about the risk of flooding but didn't act on them because the notices are fairly routine and the house had weathered many floods before. "I just wish we'd gotten a better idea of what was happening,' she said. Pressure for a detailed accounting of what happened are mounting. Questions are being asked about when weather forecasters first advised local officials about the potential for catastrophic flooding and what those officials did to spread the message. Irene and Lucas Brake are still searching for Lucas' parents, Joni Kay and Robert, who vanished during the floods. Irene and Lucas were staying at an RV park in Kerrville, while his parents had rented a nearby cabin for the holiday. Irene said she stepped outside early July 4 to find water up to her waist. She and Lucas managed to reach safety but later learned that the cabin where Joni Kay and Robert were staying was swept away in the flood. No one has heard from them since. Lucas has spent days walking the Guadalupe River looking for any sign of them. "We are doing our best to keep our heads high,' Irene said in an interview. The area had a history of deadly deluges and was known locally as "Flash Flood Alley.' It lacked public alarms or warning sirens, partly due to the expense required to set them up. Weather alerts were sent to mobile phones in the area, but service is spotty in a largely rural region. In total, at least 109 people have been confirmed dead across the state, and authorities say the toll is expected to rise. Additional storms around the state capital Austin on July 5 caused at least 14 deaths, with another dozen or so people still believed to be missing. Survivors told news outlets they were awakened by barking dogs, the glare of flashing rescue lights, or the pounding storm that kept them tossing and turning through the night. Some stepped out of bed into cold water on the floor or were jolted awake by neighbors pounding on doors. At Wednesday's press conference, Kerrville Community Services Officer Jonathan Lamb recounted rescue stories, including a patrol sergeant who used his loudspeaker to wake up residents before spending 13 hours wading through floodwaters with others to pull people from vehicles and off rooftops. In another case, a man used a garden hose as a safety line to save someone from a fast-moving current. "I know this tragedy — how horrific as it was — could have been so much worse,' said Lamb. Local officials have pushed back on suggestions they could have acted sooner to warn residents and visitors. They say the rural terrain, which includes low water crossings and single-lane bridges, could have left evacuees stranded on the road and in danger of being swept away. Children's belongings outside a cabin at Camp Mystic in Hunt, Texas, on Wednesday | Bloomberg "There are rural areas that may experience extended response times, areas where cell service is spotty, where there are single-lane bridges, and low water crossings,' Gov. Greg Abbott said in a statement. "Sometimes evacuation is not the safest choice; sometimes the safer choice is shelter-in-place. The Hill Country is not one-size-fits all.' He pledged a thorough investigation of what happened "to identify areas for improvement in our response protocols.' Abbott also ordered Texas flags to be lowered to half-staff Wednesday in memory of the victims. Abbott has also said lawmakers will address flood warning systems in a special session of the Texas legislature starting July 21, and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said the state would find a way to pay for natural-disaster alarms for the area. AccuWeather estimated the disaster may have caused $18 billion to $22 billion in economic losses and property damage statewide. Texas is especially prone to natural catastrophes, partly because it's so big. In the past decade, Texas has been in the top 10 states for weather-related economic losses, according to National Weather Service records. From 2015 to 2024, 654 people died as a direct result of weather. Texas accounts for 31% of all damages caused by extreme weather in the U.S. during the last 10 years. Brandon Rothwell, 56, was volunteering in Hunt this week, helping cook food for victims and search-and-rescue crews at an outdoor grill. He grew up in Hunt and was in Kerrville when the floods struck, but far enough away from the river to be safe. "This storm was like a mini hurricane,' he said. "The river here is like a rock quarry in a way. There's a lot of rock and canyons. Water just came down.' He said the area is resilient, and predicted most of it would be rebuilt within six months. Neighbors are already working to help each other, he said. "Everyone pulled together with love,' he said. "We're Texans. That's what we do.'
