Search for Texas flood victims enters third day as more rain forecast
A search dog working at Camp Mystic, after deadly flooding in Kerr County, Texas, on July 5.
HUNT, Texas - The search for over two dozen children missing from a girls' summer camp hit by flash floods in Texas entered a third day on July 6 as rescuers faced the threat of more flooding and the death toll in the region reached at least 50.
Search and rescue teams raced to find 27 girls missing from a camp near the Guadalupe River, which
broke its banks after torrential rain fell in central Texas on July 4, the US Independence Day holiday.
Officials said more than 850 people had been rescued, including some clinging to trees, after a sudden storm dumped up to 38cm of rain across Texas Hill Country, about 140km north-west of San Antonio. It was unclear exactly how many people in the area were still missing.
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.
President Donald Trump and his administration have overseen thousands of job cuts from the National Weather Service's parent agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, leaving many weather offices understaffed, said former NOAA director Rick Spinrad.
He 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.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who oversees NOAA, said a 'moderate' flood watch issued on July 3 by the National Weather Service had not accurately predicted the extreme rainfall and said the Trump administration was working to upgrade the system.
Top stories
Swipe. Select. Stay informed.
Singapore First BTO project in Sembawang North to be offered in July HDB launch
World Tariffs will kick in on Aug 1 barring trade deals: US Treasury Secretary
Singapore Woman on SMRT's 190 bus injured after bottle thrown at vehicle leaves hole in window
Business Great Eastern says Takeover Code not breached when it shared IFA valuation with OCBC
Asia 'Don't be seen in India again': Indian nationals pushed into Bangladesh at gunpoint
Asia Thousands evacuated as Typhoon Danas lashes Taiwan
Asia Two women fatally stabbed at bar in Japan by man
Life Star Awards 2025: Christopher Lee wins big, including Special Achievement Award and Best Actor
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Mr Joaquin Castro, a Democratic congressman from Texas, told CNN's State Of The Union 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,' Mr Castro said.
More rain was expected in the area on July 6. The National Weather Service issued a flood watch for Kerr County, the epicentre of the disaster, until 1pm local time.
The disaster unfolded rapidly on the morning of July 4 as heavier-than-forecast rain drove river waters rapidly to as high as 9m.
Items scattered inside a cabin at Camp Mystic after deadly flooding in Kerr County, Texas, on July 5.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, told a press conference on July 5 he had asked Mr Trump to sign a disaster declaration, which would unlock federal aid for those affected. Ms Noem said Mr Trump would honour that request.
Mr 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.
At least 15 of the confirmed dead are children, local officials said. The 27 missing girls were from the Camp Mystic summer camp, a nearly century-old Christian girls camp, which had 700 girls in residence at the time of the flood.
Families waiting to hear news of their loved ones in Kerville, Texas, on July 5.
PHOTO: REUTERS
A day after the disaster struck, the camp was a scene of devastation. Inside one cabin, mud lines indicating how high the water had risen were at least 1.83m 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. REUTERS
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
6 hours ago
- Straits Times
Texas girls' camp confirms 27 children, counsellors died in floods as search teams face more rain
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox A search and rescue team searching for survivors along the Guadalupe River near Camp Mystic in Hunt, Texas, on July 7. KERRVILLE, Texas - A Christian all-girls camp in central Texas said on July 7 that 27 campers and counselors were among those who perished in the catastrophic flooding over the July 4 weekend, while emergency responders still searching for dozens of missing people faced the prospect of more heavy rains and thunderstorms. The death toll from July 4's floods has reached 78, including 28 children, and officials have said it is likely to rise as search teams waded through mud-laden riverbanks and flew over the flood-stricken landscape. The bulk of the dead were in the riverfront Hill Country Texas town of Kerrville, Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said. The Guadalupe River that runs through Kerrville was transformed by pre-dawn torrential downpours into a raging torrent in less than an hour on July 4. The waters tore through Camp Mystic, a nearly century-old Christian girls' retreat on the banks of the Guadalupe River. 'Our hearts are broken alongside our families that are enduring this unimaginable tragedy,' the camp said in a statement on July 7. Mr Richard 'Dick' Eastland, 70, the co-owner and director of Camp Mystic, died trying to save the children at his camp during the flood, multiple media including the Austin American-Statesman reported. Eastland and his wife Tweety Eastland have owned the camp since 1974, according to the camp's website. 'If he wasn't going to die of natural causes, this was the only other way, saving the girls that he so loved and cared for,' Mr Eastland's grandson, George Eastland, wrote on Instagram. In Hill Country where the worst flooding occurred, 5cm to 10cm of more rain were expected to fall, with isolated areas getting up to 25cm of rain, said Ms Allison Santorelli, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service's Weather Prediction Centre in College Park, Maryland. Ms Santorelli said that the potential new floods could be particularly dangerous because of the water-saturated soil and all the debris already in and around the river. The weather service issued a flood watch through 7pm on July 7 in the region. State emergency management officials had warned on July 3, ahead of the Fourth of July holiday, that parts of central Texas faced the possibility of heavy showers and flash floods based on National Weather Service forecasts. Confluence of disaster But twice as much rain as was predicted ended up falling over two branches of the Guadalupe just upstream of the fork where they converge, sending all of that water racing into the single river channel where it slices through Kerrville, City Manager Dalton Rice said. Mr Rice and other public officials, including Governor Greg Abbott, said the circumstances of the flooding, and the adequacy of weather forecasts and warning systems, would be scrutinised once the immediate situation was brought under control. In the meantime, search-and-rescue operations were continuing around the clock, with hundreds of emergency personnel on the ground contending with a myriad of challenges. 'It's hot, there's mud, they're moving debris, there's snakes,' Mr Freeman Martin, director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, told reporters on July 6. Mr Thomas Suelzar, adjutant general of the Texas Military Department, said airborne search assets included eight helicopters and a remotely piloted MQ-9 Reaper aircraft equipped with advanced sensors for surveillance and reconnaissance missions. Officials said on July 5 that more than 850 people had been rescued, some clinging to trees, after the sudden storm dumped up to 15 inches of rain across the region, about 140km north-west of San Antonio. The Federal Emergency Management Agency was activated on July 6 and was deploying resources to Texas after President Donald Trump issued a major disaster declaration, the Department of Homeland Security said. US Coast Guard helicopters and planes were aiding search and rescue efforts. First responders searches under a bridge that spans over the Guadalupe River, in Hunt, Texas, on July 6. PHOTO: EPA Scaling back federal disaster response Mr Trump said on July 6 that he would visit the disaster scene, probably on July 11. He 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. Mr Trump's administration has overseen thousands of job cuts from the National Weather Service's parent agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa), leaving many weather offices understaffed, former Noaa director Rick Spinrad said. Mr Trump pushed back when asked on July 6 if federal government cuts hobbled the disaster response or left key job vacancies at the Weather Service under Mr 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 a 100-year catastrophe.' Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said on Fox News on July 7 that there did not appear to be a specific breakdown in the National Weather Service systems. 'The alerts went out several hours in advance, but the rise in the level of water, and how quickly that happened, just really was unprecedented for this area,' she said. REUTERS
Straits Times
11 hours ago
- Straits Times
Wimbledon day eight
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox FILE PHOTO: Tennis - Wimbledon - All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain - July 5, 2025 Serbia's Novak Djokovic in action during his third round match against Serbia's Miomir Kecmanovic REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo Highlights of the eighth day at the Wimbledon tennis championships on Monday (times GMT): 1006 PLAY UNDER WAY Play began under overcast skies at the All England Club, with the temperature hovering around 17 degrees Celsius (62.6°F) and expected to climb to 21 degrees, and cool and dry conditions expected throughout the day. READ MORE: PREVIEW-Milestone hunter Djokovic set for De Minaur test Sabalenka stands tall, Norrie survives to reach Wimbledon quarter-finals You cannot be serious! Wimbledon line-calling system under fire after major glitch Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Eligible S'poreans to get up to $850 in GSTV cash, up to $450 in MediSave top-ups in August Singapore Four golf courses to close by 2035, leaving Singapore with 12 courses Singapore Fewer marriages and births in Singapore in 2024; greater stability for later cohorts Singapore Construction starts on Cross Island Line Phase 2; 6 MRT stations in S'pore's west ready by 2032 Asia 72-year-old man on diving trip to Malaysia's Pulau Tioman found dead on the beach Singapore $1.46b nickel scam: Ng Yu Zhi opts to remain silent after judge calls for his defence Asia Bali flights nixed after huge Indonesia volcano eruption Life How to cope with the heat when travelling: 5 expert-backed tips Anisimova ends Czech three-peat hopes with victory over Noskova Alcaraz resists red-hot Rublev to reach Wimbledon quarter-finals Norrie sees off ace-monster Jarry in thriller to reach last eight Siegemund stops lucky loser Sierra to reach Wimbledon quarter-finals Sabalenka passes Mertens test to reach Wimbledon quarter-finals Pavlyuchenkova beats Kartal to reach last eight despite line-calling glitch WIMBLEDON ORDER OF PLAY ON MONDAY (prefix number denotes seeding) CENTRE COURT (Play begins at 1230 GMT) 11-Alex de Minaur (Australia) v 6-Novak Djokovic (Serbia) 7-Mirra Andreeva (Russia) v 10-Emma Navarro (U.S.) 1-Jannik Sinner (Italy) v 19-Grigor Dimitrov (Bulgaria) COURT NUMBER ONE (Play begins at 1200 GMT) 18-Ekaterina Alexandrova (Russia) v Belinda Bencic (Switzerland) 10-Ben Shelton (U.S.) v Lorenzo Sonego (Italy) 8-Iga Swiatek (Poland) v 23-Clara Tauson (Denmark) COURT NUMBER TWO (Play begins at 1000 GMT) Marin Cilic (Croatia) v 22-Flavio Cobolli (Italy) 19-Liudmila Samsonova (Russia) v Jessica Bouzas Maneiro (Spain) REUTERS
Straits Times
12 hours ago
- Straits Times
Heat wave grips South Korea as monsoon ends early
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox As monsoon season was officially declared to have ended in southern parts of South Korea on July 3, intense heat waves are expected throughout the week, with heat wave warnings issued across most parts of the country as of 10am on July 7. On July 7, the Korea Meteorological Administration announced that it would upgrade its previous heat wave advisories to warnings for most parts of the country, including the Greater Seoul region, North and South Chungcheong provinces, North and South Gyeongsang provinces, North Jeolla Province and eastern parts of Jeju Island. Heat wave advisories are issued when the highest apparent temperature is expected to exceed 33 deg C for two or more consecutive days, while heat wave warnings are issued when the highest apparent temperature is expected to exceed 35 deg C for two or more consecutive days. According to the KMA, of the 183 inland regions under heat-related alerts, 122 are under heat wave warnings and 55 are under advisories. Seoul also saw its first citywide heat wave advisory of the year issued July 7, arriving 18 days earlier than last year's heat wave warning. The heat is expected to intensify in the capital and other cities in the Greater Seoul region on July 8 and 9, as high temperatures of up to 36 C are expected both days. If temperatures rise above than 36 deg C on the following two days, a new temperature record could be set. According to the state weather agency, the highest July temperature on record in Seoul was 36.8 deg C, set on July 9, 1939. Up until now, hot and humid southwesterly winds flowing along the edge of the North Pacific high-pressure system have brought particularly hot temperatures to the eastern parts of Korea, including Gangneung in Gangwon Province. Gangneung saw temperatures rise as high as 38.7 deg C on July 6 — the third-highest July temperature record seen since measurements were first taken in 1911. However, as the direction of the wind moves east, the focus of the heat wave is also expected to shift. While Gangneung and other parts of Gangwon Province located along the east will see relatively cooler temperatures of around 29 deg C to 30 deg C, western parts of Korea including Seoul will see sweltering temperatures. This shift is mainly due to the influence of Typhoon Danas, moving toward Shantou, China. While the typhoon is not forecast to make landfall in Korea, the KMA warned that the tropical air mass being pushed toward the Korean Peninsula will intensify the current heat waves, bringing both higher temperatures and increased humidity. As scorching heat continues to grip the country, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency reported on July 7 that 59 people visited emergency rooms nationwide due to heat-related symptoms on July 6, with two fatalities reported in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province and Yeongdeok, North Gyeongsang Province, after suffering a heat stroke. Since the launch of the national heat illness surveillance system on May 15 — covering 517 emergency medical facilities — a total of 875 people have been treated for heat-related illnesses and seven deaths have been reported. According to the KDCA, this marks a sharp increase compared to the same period last year, which saw 469 cases and three deaths. The 875 cases recorded up until now already surpass last year's total of 859. Relief from the heat may come over the weekend as a high-pressure system carrying cooler northern air is expected to move toward the peninsula on July 12. The interaction between the cooler air and the lingering heat may lead to the formation of a stationary front, bringing rain to the capital region as well as the western parts of Gangwon Province on July 16. Due to the potential for additional rainfall, the KMA has yet to officially declare an end to the monsoon season in the central parts of the country. THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
