Timelapse video shows speed of floodwater rising in Texas
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Yahoo
16 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Death toll in central Texas flash floods rises to 70 as sheriff says 11 campers remain missing
Families sifted through waterlogged debris Sunday and stepped inside empty cabins at Camp Mystic, an all-girls summer camp ripped apart by flash floods that washed homes off their foundations and killed at least 70 people in central Texas. Rescuers maneuvering through challenging terrain continued their desperate search for the missing, including 11 girls and a counselor from the camp. How many more remain unaccounted for across the Texas Hill Country and beyond remains unclear as authorities haven't given an estimate even though it has been three days since the storm began pounding the state. In Kerr County, home to Camp Mystic and other youth camps, searchers have found 16 bodies since Saturday afternoon, bringing the total number of dead there to 59, including 21 children, said Sheriff Larry Leitha. He pledged to keep searching until 'everybody is found' from Friday's flash floods. Four deaths also were reported in Travis County, three in Burnet, two in Kendall and one each in Tom Green and Williamson counties. Families were allowed to look around the camp beginning Sunday morning. One girl walked out of a building carrying a large bell. A man, who said his daughter was rescued from a cabin on the highest point in the camp, walked a riverbank, looking in clumps of trees and under big rocks. A woman and a teenage girl, both wearing rubber waders, briefly went inside one of the cabins, which stood next to a pile of soaked mattresses, a storage trunk and clothes. At one point, the pair doubled over, sobbing before they embraced. One family left with a blue footlocker. A teenage girl had tears running down her face looking out the open window, gazing at the wreckage as they slowly drove away. While the families saw the devastation for the first time, nearby crews operating heavy equipment pulled tree trunks and tangled branches from the water as they searched the river. With each passing hour, the outlook of finding more survivors became even more bleak. Volunteers and some families of the missing who drove to the disaster zone searched the riverbanks despite being asked not to do so. Authorities faced growing questions about whether enough warnings were issued in an area long vulnerable to flooding and whether enough preparations were made. President Donald Trump signed a major disaster declaration Sunday for Kerr County, activating the Federal Emergency Management Agency to Texas. 'These families are enduring an unimaginable tragedy, with many lives lost, and many still missing,' Trump posted on social media. The destructive, fast-moving waters rose 26 feet (8 meters) on the river in only 45 minutes before daybreak Friday, washing away homes and vehicles. The danger was not over as flash flood watches remained in effect and more rain fell in central Texas on Sunday. Searchers used helicopters, boats and drones to look for victims and to rescue people stranded in trees and from camps isolated by washed-out roads. Officials said more than 850 people were rescued in the first 36 hours. Gov. Greg Abbott vowed that authorities will work around the clock and said new areas were being searched as the water receded. He declared Sunday a day of prayer for the state. 'I urge every Texan to join me in prayer this Sunday — for the lives lost, for those still missing, for the recovery of our communities, and for the safety of those on the front lines,' he said in a statement. In Rome, Pope Leo XIV offered special prayers for those touched by the disaster. History's first American pope spoke in English at the end of his Sunday noon blessing, 'I would like to express sincere condolences to all the families who have lost loved ones, in particular their daughters who were in summer camp, in the disaster caused by the flooding of the Guadalupe River in Texas in the United States. We pray for them.' The hills along the Guadalupe River are dotted with century-old youth camps and campgrounds where generations of families have come to swim and enjoy the outdoors. The area is especially popular around the Independence Day holiday, making it more difficult to know how many are missing. Survivors shared terrifying stories of being swept away and clinging to trees as rampaging floodwaters carried trees and cars past them. Others fled to attics inside their homes, praying the water wouldn't reach them. At Camp Mystic, a cabin full of girls held onto a rope strung by rescuers as they walked across a bridge with water whipping around their legs. Among those confirmed dead were an 8-year-old girl from Mountain Brook, Alabama, who was at Camp Mystic, and the director of another camp up the road. Locals know the area as ' flash flood alley' but the flooding in the middle of the night caught many campers and residents by surprise even though there were warnings. The National Weather Service on Thursday advised of potential flooding and then sent out a series of flash flood warnings in the early hours of Friday before issuing flash flood emergencies — a rare alert notifying of imminent danger. At the Mo-Ranch Camp in the community of Hunt, officials had been monitoring the weather and opted to move several hundred campers and attendees at a church youth conference to higher ground. At nearby Camps Rio Vista and Sierra Vista, organizers also had mentioned on social media that they were watching the weather the day before ending their second summer session Thursday. Authorities and elected officials have said they did not expect such an intense downpour, the equivalent of months' worth of rain for the area. U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, whose district includes the ravaged area, acknowledged that there would be second-guessing and finger-pointing as people look for someone to blame. ___ Seewer reported from Toledo, Ohio. Associated Press writers Adrian Sainz in Memphis, Tennessee; Cedar Attanasio in New York; Sophia Tareen in Chicago; Michelle Price in Bridgewater, N.J.; and Nicole Winfield in Rome contributed. Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW
Forbes
40 minutes ago
- Forbes
Over 5,000 Flights Disrupted In U.S. As Americans Travel Home From Holiday Weekend
Over 5,000 flights in the United States were delayed Sunday, primarily due to inclement weather, as Americans travel following the Independence Day weekend. Thunderstorms in the Midwest delayed flights at Chicago-O'Hare International Airport. Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. Travelers at Chicago-O'Hare faced the worst delays Sunday as thunderstorms moved across the region, with the Federal Aviation Administration estimating inbound flight delays could last more than an hour and 15 minutes. Nearly 800 flights to and from O'Hare were delayed by 5 p.m. EDT on Sunday, according to FlightAware data. Inbound flights to Reagan Washington International Airport were also delayed by an average of 40 minutes due to staffing shortages, the FAA said in an alert. The rest of the weekend also saw considerable flight delays across the country, peaking at over 9,100 on the Fourth of July. 54,706. That's how many air travelers the United States saw on Thursday, June 26—the busiest air travel day of the year so far, the FAA reported last week. The agency also predicted busy air travel days for the entire extended holiday weekend, with an expected 51,000 flights on July 3, before Independence Day. The FAA said it was expecting roughly 47,966 flights on Sunday—meaning if these predictions are correct, over 10% of all flights on Sunday were delayed as of early evening. The pace of flights being delayed accelerated throughout Sunday afternoon, according to FlightAware. Flight delays can compound later in the day due to planes not reaching their destinations on time earlier, which is often the case when there is widespread bad weather, with summertime being particularly notorious for the formation of thunderstorms that can disrupt air travel.
Yahoo
40 minutes ago
- Yahoo
El Paso team assists in Texas flooding rescues. El Paso leaders offer support, prayers
Members of the El Paso Fire Department Water Rescue Team are assisting in the statewide response taking part in search and rescue operations amid the historic flooding in central Texas. EPFD Water Rescue Team members, as part of Texas Task Force 1, helped use a boat to rescue two people clinging to a tree in the darkness amid raging floodwaters in Marble Falls, according to a video posted on the EPFD Facebook page on Sunday, July 6. Marble Falls is along the Colorado River northwest of Austin. More: Terrain and timing conspired to cause 'horrifying' Texas rainfall Relentless rains triggered widespread flash flooding that has killed at least 70 people over the Fourth of July weekend in stretches of Texas from Travis County in the Austin area, Kerrville and other towns in the Texas Hill Country and some parts of West Texas, including San Angelo, where a record-setting 14 inches of rain fell early on July 4. The El Paso team has "been working tirelessly alongside numerous other rescue agencies," the Fire Department stated, adding, " .... Our hearts go out to all of the communities in Central Texas affected by this devastating flooding. We are honored to support the response efforts and hope to make a meaningful impact." El Paso elected leaders expressed support for their fellow Texans amid the destruction caused by overflowing rivers and flood waters and the loss of lives. How to help: Texas flooding deaths hit at least 70: Here's how you can help "I can't begin to imagine the devastation the survivors and their families are going through. Praying for all of them," U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-El Paso, posted on X, formerly Twitter. State Rep. Joe Moody, D-El Paso, encouraged people to donated to the Kerr County Flood Relief Fund by the Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country. "Tragedy isn't partisan, & neither is helping our fellow Texans," Moody stated on X. State Rep. Jared Patterson, R-Frisco, "and I are giving to help families affected by this disaster, & we're asking others to do the same. There are hurts that money can't fix, but this is one part of easing what burdens we can. #txlege" Daniel Borunda may be reached at dborunda@ and @BorundaDaniel on X. This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Paso team helps in Texas flooding water rescues
