Hope of finding Texas flood survivors dims as search efforts go on
The search efforts benefited from improving weather on Tuesday.
Advertisement
The storms that battered the Hill Country area for the past four days began to lighten up, although isolated pockets of heavy rain were still possible.
Law enforcement officials block a road along the Guadalupe River in Hunt, Texas (Eli Hartman/AP)
Texas governor Greg Abbott planned to make another visit on Tuesday to Camp Mystic, the century-old all-girls Christian summer camp where at least 27 campers and staff died during the flash floods.
Officials said on Monday that 10 campers and one counsellor have still not been found.
A wall of water slammed into camps and homes along the edge of the Guadalupe River before daybreak on Friday, pulling people out of their cabins, tents and trailers and dragging them for miles past floating tree trunks and cars.
Advertisement
Some survivors were found clinging to trees.
Questions are mounting about what, if any, actions local officials took to warn campers and residents who were spending the July Fourth holiday weekend in the scenic area long known to locals as 'flash flood alley'.
At public briefings, officials in hard-hit Kerr County have deflected questions about what preparations and warnings were made as forecasters warned of life-threatening conditions.
A person moves debris at Guadalupe Keys Resort after flooding in Texas (Ashley Landis/AP)
'We definitely want to dive in and look at all those things,' Kerrville city manager Dalton Rice said on Monday.
Advertisement
'We're looking forward to doing that once we can get the search and rescue complete.'
Some camps were aware of the dangers and monitoring the weather.
At least one moved several hundred campers to higher ground before the floods, but many were caught by surprise.
Searchers have found the bodies of 84 people, including 28 children, in Kerr County, which is home to Camp Mystic and several other summer camps near the river, officials said.
Advertisement
Nineteen deaths were reported in Travis, Burnet, Kendall, Tom Green and Williamson counties, local officials said.
A Virgin of Guadalupe icon is seen among the damaged property of a home in Hunt, Texas (Eli Hartman/AP)
Among those confirmed dead were eight-year-old sisters from Dallas who were at Camp Mystic and a former soccer coach and his wife who were staying at a riverfront home. Their daughters were still missing.
Elizabeth Lester, a mother of children who were at Camp Mystic and nearby Camp La Junta during the flood, said her young son had to swim out of a cabin window to escape.
Her daughter fled up the hillside as floodwaters whipped against her legs. Both survived.
Advertisement
Search-and-rescue teams used heavy equipment to untangle trees and move large rocks as part of the massive search for missing people.
Hundreds of volunteers have shown up to help with one of the largest rescue operations in Texas history.
Piles of twisted trees sprinkled with mattresses, refrigerators and coolers littered the riverbanks.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Experts: 10% chance storm system could develop into tropical cyclone
Hurricane trackers have gone on high alert, warning that a new Gulf Coast storm threatens nearly 12 million Americans in the storm's potential path this week. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) issued an urgent warning Wednesday morning, saying there is now a 10 percent chance the brewing storm system could develop into a tropical cyclone, bringing dangerous weather to coastal cities from Florida to Texas. Officials warned that the storm will likely cause intense rainfall, urban flooding, rough surf, and rip currents between Wednesday and Friday. Forecasters are expecting thunderstorms to move from the Carolinas, across Florida, and into the Gulf of America (formerly the Gulf of Mexico), where it'll affect Alabama , Mississippi , Louisiana , and Texas. AccuWeather has forecasted several inches of rain across the northern Gulf Coast, with parts of the Interstate 10 corridor in Jacksonville, Florida, at risk of receiving more than six inches of rainfall in just a few hours over the weekend. The alert comes just a few weeks after catastrophic flash flooding tore through the Texas Hill Country, killing at least 135 people, including dozens of children at a summer camp. Hundreds of other floods across the country have led AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jon Porter to predict that 2025 may go down at the "worst flash flood year in modern US history." 'We've already seen a 70 percent jump in flash flood reports compared to the 10-year average, and we're only in July,' Porter revealed. So far this year, flash floods have killed at least 184 people across the US, with major storms hitting Texas, North Carolina, New Mexico, Illinois, and multiple state in the Northeast. In last weekend alone, nearly 200 flash floods were reported as storms swept from the Midwest to the mid-Atlantic. At least one person died after a creek in Overland Park, Kansas, rapidly overflowed and swept through a running trail. Additional floods struck North Carolina, where six died during a 'one-in-1,000-year' rainfall event in Chapel Hill. The downpour caused the city's second-heaviest hourly rainfall on record, sending water surging into subways, closing streets, and overwhelming the city's drainage system. At least two people were killed in New Jersey after their car was swept away by floodwaters. Officials have reported more than 4,800 flash flood in 2025, and experts warn the worst may be yet to come. This week's storm could follow a similar path, according to AccuWeather's team monitoring tropical storms, who said t hese floods are not just random events anymore. 'Storms are being intensified by a warmer atmosphere and more moisture in the air. And we're seeing the toll, city by city,' Porter emphasized. Officials are now urging Americans in flood-prone areas to stay alert. Showers and storms are expected to intensify into the weekend with, increasing the chances of flash flooding, especially in urban and low-lying areas throughout the Gulf States. The conditions are being driven by a rare mix of extreme heat, trapped tropical moisture from a stronger-than-usual Bermuda High, and storm systems sweeping down from Canada. Brett Anderson, senior meteorologist at AccuWeather, said this storm system pattern is hitting more land than usual. 'We're seeing extreme rainfall across the entire US, not just the usual trouble spots,' he added. One major factor is the amount of water vapor in the air. In a 30 year of analysis, AccuWeather scientists found that atmospheric moisture has steadily increased every summer. That means storms now carry more water, and when they strike, they unleash more of it in less time. Dan DePodwin, AccuWeather's senior forecasting director, explained that in regions like Texas and New Mexico, drought has hardened the soil to the point where it behaves like concrete.
Daily Mail
3 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Hurricane trackers warn 12m of new storm threat as experts fear 'worst flash flood year ever'
Hurricane trackers have gone on high alert, warning that a new Gulf Coast storm threatens nearly 12 million Americans in the storm's potential path this week. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) issued an urgent warning Wednesday morning, saying there is now a 10 percent chance the brewing storm system could develop into a tropical cyclone, bringing dangerous weather to coastal cities from Florida to Texas. Officials warned that the storm will likely cause intense rainfall, urban flooding, rough surf, and rip currents between Wednesday and Friday. Forecasters are expecting thunderstorms to move from the Carolinas, across Florida, and into the Gulf of America (formerly the Gulf of Mexico), where it'll affect Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas. AccuWeather has forecasted several inches of rain across the northern Gulf Coast, with parts of the Interstate 10 corridor in Jacksonville, Florida, at risk of receiving more than six inches of rainfall in just a few hours over the weekend. The alert comes just a few weeks after catastrophic flash flooding tore through the Texas Hill Country, killing at least 135 people, including dozens of children at a summer camp. Hundreds of other floods across the country have led AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jon Porter to predict that 2025 may go down at the "worst flash flood year in modern US history." 'We've already seen a 70 percent jump in flash flood reports compared to the 10-year average, and we're only in July,' Porter revealed. So far this year, flash floods have killed at least 184 people across the US, with major storms hitting Texas, North Carolina, New Mexico, Illinois, and multiple state in the Northeast. In last weekend alone, nearly 200 flash floods were reported as storms swept from the Midwest to the mid-Atlantic. At least one person died after a creek in Overland Park, Kansas, rapidly overflowed and swept through a running trail. Additional floods struck North Carolina, where six died during a 'one-in-1,000-year' rainfall event in Chapel Hill. New Mexico, Illinois, and the Northeast each experienced extreme flash flooding as well, with multiple records broken and more than 100 flash flood warnings issued on July 14. New York was also slammed by rare and extreme flooding earlier this month, when a line of storms dumped more than four inches of rain across parts of Staten Island, Brooklyn, and the Bronx. The downpour caused the city's second-heaviest hourly rainfall on record, sending water surging into subways, closing streets, and overwhelming the city's drainage system. At least two people were killed in New Jersey after their car was swept away by floodwaters. Officials have reported more than 4,800 flash flood in 2025, and experts warn the worst may be yet to come. This week's storm could follow a similar path, according to AccuWeather's team monitoring tropical storms, who said these floods are not just random events anymore. 'Storms are being intensified by a warmer atmosphere and more moisture in the air. And we're seeing the toll, city by city,' Porter emphasized. Officials are now urging Americans in flood-prone areas to stay alert. Showers and storms are expected to intensify into the weekend with, increasing the chances of flash flooding, especially in urban and low-lying areas throughout the Gulf States. 'If this system develops, it'll likely follow a track similar to the rainstorm that hit last week, that means some of the same areas may face flooding all over again,' AccuWeather warned. Boaters and coastal residents are being told to brace for a rough rip current, and a sudden storm that could generate downpours and even brief tornadoes. Experts say the weather could change rapidly along the coast, especially with thunderstorms forming directly over warm Gulf waters. The conditions are being driven by a rare mix of extreme heat, trapped tropical moisture from a stronger-than-usual Bermuda High, and storm systems sweeping down from Canada. Brett Anderson, senior meteorologist at AccuWeather, said this storm system pattern is hitting more land than usual. 'We're seeing extreme rainfall across the entire US, not just the usual trouble spots,' he added. One major factor is the amount of water vapor in the air. In a 30 year of analysis, AccuWeather scientists found that atmospheric moisture has steadily increased every summer. That means storms now carry more water, and when they strike, they unleash more of it in less time. Dan DePodwin, AccuWeather's senior forecasting director, explained that in regions like Texas and New Mexico, drought has hardened the soil to the point where it behaves like concrete. 'When rain hits that ground, it can't soak in, it just runs off into rivers and streams and floods everything in its path,' DePodwin said. According to an AccuWeather report, six major weather events so far this year have caused a total economic loss of between $375 billion and $421 billion across the United States. The increasing frequency and severity of these events are expected to worsen this hurricane season, leading to more challenges in finding affordable insurance, especially for homeowners in areas vulnerable to hurricanes and floods.
Daily Mail
5 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Met Office issues urgent yellow thunderstorm warning
Parts of South East England were battered by torrential downpours today with more than an inch of rain falling in just an hour as trains were suspended due to flooding. The Met Office imposed a yellow thunderstorm warning for parts of East Sussex and Kent until 5pm, covering Brighton, Eastbourne, Hastings, Folkestone and Dover. Some areas were told to expect 20mm (0.8in) to 25mm (1in) of rain in less than an hour, with 30mm (1.2in) to 40mm (1.6in) in one to two hours in a few locations. The alert, which was activated as soon as it was announced at 12.52pm today, comes amid concerns driving conditions will be affected by spray and standing water. Forecasters also warned of power cuts; damage to buildings and structures from lightning strikes; flooding of homes and businesses; and delays to public transport. Train operator Southern said its services between Hastings and Ashford International had been cancelled this afternoon after the railway flooded and blocked all lines. As for the rest of the UK today, there will be scattered showers in other southern and western areas with a mix of bright spells and a few light showers elsewhere. Showers will slow fade this evening, although a few will continue across East Anglia and South West. Most other areas will see a combination of cloud and clear spells. The wet weather comes after a dry and hot spring and three heatwaves so far this summer which left four regions of England in drought. England recorded its driest March to June period since 1893, and dry ground can make flooding more likely as it is unable absorb as much water. Despite four days of downpours since Saturday, company bosses said they could not confirm when restrictions will end because it is 'generally waiting for rain'. Customers living in postcodes starting OX, GL, SN, RG4, RG8 and RG9 now have the ban - but it was avoided by London, which is also served by Thames Water.
