Texas floods leave dozens dead, missing as crews search for survivors
Officials on Saturday confirmed at least 43 people are dead and more than 27 young girls remain missing after a devastating flood swept through Kerr County, Texas.
Five young girls who were staying at Camp Mystic, an all-girls private Christian retreat in Hunt, Texas, have been confirmed dead.
Anne Hunt confirmed to Fox News Digital that her daughter, Janie, was one of the campers killed in the flood. A Voice for the Voiceless, a nonprofit that advocates for "the missing, voiceless and crime victims," identified Renee Smajstrla as another deceased camper.
Family members identified best friends Lila Bonner and Eloise Peck as the most recent cabinmates found dead, according to a report from FOX 4 Dallas. They had both recently finished second grade at Bradfield Elementary.
A fifth camper has been confirmed to be deceased. However, her family asked that her name not be released.
This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News Digital's Rachel Wolf and Alexandra Koch. To continue reading, click here.
After a Texas flood killed at least 32 people Friday, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem addressed criticism about notification prior to the flood, saying the administration is working on updating the National Weather Service and NOAA's "neglected" and "ancient" systems.
Citing her time in Congress and as governor of South Dakota, Noem said that while the weather is difficult to predict, there have been instances when officials and citizens expressed the need for quicker warning and clearer notification before deadly weather.
"That is one of the reasons that, when President [Donald] Trump took office, he said he wanted to fix and is currently upgrading the technology," Noem said during a news conference with state officials Saturday afternoon.
"The National Weather Service has indicated that with that and the [National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration] (NOAA), we needed to renew this ancient system that has been left in place with the federal government for many, many years."
This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News Digital's Alexandra Koch. To continue reading, click here.
As officials continue to confirm deaths and search for those missing after the Texas Hill Country floods on Friday, locals have started to share stories of incredible acts of bravery and heroism amid a weekend of anguish.
Julian Ryan and his fiancé Christina Wilson were at their home in Ingram, when water began rushing through the doors.
As the water was quickly rising, Ryan, 27, punched through a window to get Wilson, their children, and his mother out of the flooded house, according to Houston outlet KHOU-11.
Wilson told the outlet the glass cut one of Ryan's arteries and his arm was badly injured. Calls to 911 went unanswered.
"By 6 (a.m.), he looked at me and the kids and my mother-in-law and said, 'I'm sorry, I'm not going to make it. I love y'all,'" Wilson told KHOU-11.
Ryan is being remembered as a "true hero," who was dedicated to his family, according to a GoFundMe created for the family.
This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News Digital's Alexandra Koch. To continue reading, click here.
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