Texas flooding death toll expected to rise as search continues for missing
Those still missing include 11 young girls and a counsellor from a riverside Christian summer camp where some 750 people had been staying when disaster struck.
The rain-swollen waters of the Guadalupe River reached treetops and the roofs of cabins in Camp Mystic as girls slept overnight on Friday, washing away some of them and leaving a scene of devastation.
Blankets, teddy bears and other belongings ended up caked in mud. Windows in the cabins were shattered, apparently by the force of the water.
Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick said heavy rain likely to cause more flooding was falling on Sunday, as the death toll at the camp and elsewhere in Kerr County rose to at least 59.
"We expect that to go higher, sadly," Mr Patrick told Fox News on Sunday.
Officials and US media said nine people died in other Texas counties, for a total of 68.
On Sunday, local officials sharply dropped the number of missing girls from the camp from 27 to 11.
The flooding began at the start of the Fourth of July holiday weekend as months' worth of rain fell in a matter of hours, much of it coming overnight as people slept.
Flash floods, which occur when the ground is unable to absorb torrential rainfall, are not unusual.
The region of south and central Texas where the weekend's deluge occurred is known colloquially as "Flash Flood Alley".
But scientists say that in recent years human-driven climate change has made extreme weather events such as floods, droughts and heat waves more frequent and more intense.
US President Donald Trump declared the situation a major disaster, freeing up resources to help state officials cope with the crisis.
The Federal Emegency Management Agency (FEMA) was also sending resources to Texas.
People from elsewhere in Texas converged on Kerr County to help look for the missing.
Texans also started flying personal drones to help the search, but were urged to stop as it was a danger to rescue aircraft.
At a Sunday mass, Pope Leo joined world leaders expressing shock and sadness at the events in Texas.
"I would like to express sincere condolences to all the families who have lost loved ones, in particular their daughters who were in a summer camp in the disaster caused by flooding of the Guadalupe River in Texas," the US-born pontiff said.
"We pray for them."
Texas Governor Greg Abbott said Camp Mystic had been "horrendously ravaged in ways unlike I've seen in any natural disaster".
"We won't stop until we find every girl who was in those cabins," he said in a post on social media platform X after a visit to the site.
ABC/wires
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ABC News
2 hours ago
- ABC News
Texas floods death toll rises to 82 as search continues for those still missing
Flash floods in Texas have killed at least 82 people and at least 40 people are still missing. The devastation along the Guadalupe River, outside of San Antonio, has drawn a massive search effort as officials face questions over their preparedness and the speed of their initial actions. The Texas Hill Country in the central part of the state is naturally prone to flash flooding due to the dry dirt-packed areas where the soil lets rain skid along the surface of the landscape instead of soaking it up. The flash floods on Friday, local time, started with a particularly bad storm that dropped most of its 30 centimetres of rain in the dark early morning hours. After a flood watch notice midday on Thursday, the National Weather Service office issued an urgent warning around 4am that raised the potential of catastrophic damage and a severe threat to human life. By at least 5:20 am, some in the Kerrville City area say water levels were getting alarmingly high. The massive rain flowing down hills sent rushing water into the Guadalupe River, causing it to rise eight metres in just 45 minutes. Texas Governor Greg Abbott said on Sunday that there were 41 people confirmed to be unaccounted-for across the state and more could be missing. In Kerr County, home to youth camps in the Texas Hill Country, searchers have found the bodies of 68 people, including 28 children, Sheriff Larry Leitha said on Sunday afternoon. Fatalities in nearby counties brought the total number of deaths to 79 as of Sunday evening. Ten girls and a counsellor were still unaccounted-for at Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp along the river. Camp Mystic said it was "grieving the loss" the loss of 27 campers and counsellors as the search continued on Monday for victims of the catastrophic Texas flooding over the Fourth of July holiday weekend. The statement added another layer of heartbreak to the devastating flooding sent a wall of water through the century-old summer camp. "We have been in communication with local and state authorities who are tirelessly deploying extensive resources to search for our missing girls," the camp said in a statement posted on its website. "We are deeply grateful for the outpouring of support from community, first responders, and officials at every level." For past campers, the tragedy turned happy memories into grief. Beyond the Camp Mystic participants unaccounted-for, the number of missing from other nearby campgrounds and across the region had not been released. "We don't even want to begin to estimate at this time," Kerrville city manager Dalton Rice said Saturday, citing the likely influx of visitors during the holiday weekend. Survivors have described the floods as a "pitch black wall of death" and said they received no emergency warnings. Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly, who lives along the Guadalupe River, said on Saturday that "nobody saw this coming." Various officials have referred to it as a "100-year-flood," meaning that the water levels were highly unlikely based on the historical record. Records behind those statistics don't always account for human-caused climate change. Though it's hard to connect specific storms to a warming planet so soon after they occur, meteorologists say that a warmer atmosphere can hold more moisture and allow severe storms to dump even more rain. Additionally, officials have come under scrutiny about why residents and youth summer camps along the river were not alerted sooner than 4am or told to evacuate. Officials noted that the public can grow weary from too many flooding alerts or forecasts that turn out to be minor. Kerr County officials said they had presented a proposal for a more robust flood warning system, similar to a tornado warning system, but that members of the public reeled at the cost. On Sunday, officials walked out of a news briefing after reporters asked them again about delays in alerts and evacuations. The flash floods have erased campgrounds and torn homes from their foundations. "It's going to be a long time before we're ever able to clean it up, much less rebuild it," Judge Kelly said on Saturday after surveying the destruction from a helicopter. Other massive flooding events have driven residents and business owners to give up, including in areas struck last year by Hurricane Helene. 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. Lieutenant Governor of Texas Dan Patrick said the potential for heavy rain and flooding covered a large area, and "everything was done to give them a heads-up that you could have heavy rain". However, when asked about how people were notified in Kerr County so that they could get to safety, Judge Kelly said: "We do not have a warning system." In a press conference on Sunday, local time, a journalist asked officials if six vacancies at the National Weather Service contributed to the surprise warning. Officials said it was a "good question" and they would "look into it". The Trump 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 Spinrad said he did not know if those staff cuts factored into the lack of advanced warning for the extreme Texas flooding, but that they would inevitably degrade the agency's ability to deliver accurate and timely forecasts. US President Donald 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 Mr Trump's oversight. "That water situation, that all is, and that was really the Biden set-up," he said referencing his Democratic predecessor. "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." Mr Trump said he would likely visit the flood zone on Friday. AP
News.com.au
20 hours ago
- News.com.au
Rescuers search for missing girls as Texas flood death toll hits 50
Rescuers searched through the night early Sunday for 27 girls missing from a riverside summer camp in Texas, after torrential rains caused devastating floods that killed at least 50 people in the US state. Multiple flash flood warnings remained in place across central Texas after water surged through communities, with the Guadalupe River rising by 26 feet (eight meters) in just 45 minutes. The Kerr County summer camp where hundreds were staying was left in disarray, with blankets, teddy bears and other belongings caked in mud. "We have recovered 43 deceased individuals in Kerr County. Among these who are deceased we have 28 adults and 15 children," said Larry Leitha, the sheriff of the flood-ravaged region. Multiple victims were also found in other counties, bringing the death toll to 50 so far. There was better news for Congressman August Pfluger, who said Saturday his two young daughters were safely evacuated from Camp Mystic in flooded Kerr County, where the windows of cabins were shattered, apparently by the force of the water. "The last day has brought unimaginable grief to many families and we mourn with them as well as holding out hope for survivors," the Texas Republican wrote on X. It was unclear if the two girls were among the 27 that authorities said were still missing as of Saturday. Department of Homeland Security head Kristi Noem said the US Coast Guard was "punching through storms" to evacuate stranded residents. "We will fly throughout the night and as long as possible," she said in a post on X. Texas Department of Emergency Management chief Nim Kidd said air, ground and water-based crews were scouring the length of the Guadalupe River for survivors and the bodies of the dead. Texas Governor Greg Abbott said keeping the search going throughout the night was essential as "every hour counts". The flooding began Friday -- the start of the Fourth of July holiday weekend -- as months' worth of rain fell in a matter of hours. The National Weather Service (NWS) warned that more rain was forecast, and that "excessive runoff may result in flooding of rivers, creeks, streams, and other low-lying and flood-prone locations." In Kerrville on Saturday, the usually calm Guadalupe was flowing fast, its murky waters filled with debris. "The water reached the top of the trees. About 10 meters or so," said resident Gerardo Martinez, 61. "Cars, whole houses were going down the river." Flash floods, which occur when the ground is unable to absorb torrential rainfall, are not unusual. But scientists say that in recent years human-driven climate change has made extreme weather events such as floods, droughts and heatwaves more frequent and more intense. - Devastation at Camp Mystic - On Saturday, Sheriff Leitha said 27 children from Camp Mystic were still missing. Around 750 girls were attending Camp Mystic along the banks of the Guadalupe at the time of the flood. The owner and director of Camp Mystic was also dead, according to the Kerrville website, as was the manager of another nearby summer camp. Elsewhere in Texas, four people were confirmed dead in Travis County, northeast of Kerr, and 13 people were missing, public information office director Hector Nieto told AFP. A 62-year-old woman's body was found in the city of San Angelo in Tom Green County, along the Concho River, police said. Two more people died in Burnet County, the area's emergency management coordinator Derek Marchio told AFP, bringing the state-wide death toll to 50. - 'Catastrophic' - Noem earlier said Trump wanted to "upgrade the technologies" at the weather service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). "We need to renew this ancient system," Noem told a press conference. Scientists and disaster management agencies have criticized Trump for cutting funding and staffing at the NOAA, in charge of weather forecasts and preparedness, and the NWS. When asked about claims that residents were given insufficient warning, Noem said she would "carry your concerns back to the federal government." Officials and residents alike were shocked by the speed and intensity of the flooding. "We didn't know this flood was coming," Kerr County official Rob Kelly said Friday. The rain was "double of what was anticipated," Kerrville city official Dalton Rice said. Soila Reyna, 55, a Kerrville resident who works at a church helping people who lost their belongings, witnessed the devastation unfold. "Nothing like as catastrophic as this, where it involved children, people and just the loss of people's houses," Reyna said. "It's just crazy."
SBS Australia
21 hours ago
- SBS Australia
More than 20 children among dozens killed in Texas floods as search continues
The death toll from catastrophic floods in Texas has reached 69. Eleven girls and a counsellor from a summer camp are among those who are still missing. More heavy rain is expected to continue in the area. The death toll from catastrophic floods in Texas reached at least 69 on Sunday, including at least 21 children, as the search for girls missing from a summer camp entered a third day. Texas governor Greg Abbott, speaking at a press conference on Sunday afternoon, said the death toll in Kerr County, the epicenter of the flooding, had reached 59, while another 10 had died elsewhere in Texas and 41 remained missing. Among the most devastating impacts of the flooding occurred at Camp Mystic summer camp, a nearly century-old Christian girls camp, where 11 girls and a counsellor are still missing. "It was nothing short of horrific to see what those young children went through," said Abbott, who 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 US Independence Day holiday. Larry Leitha, the Kerr County Sheriff in Texas Hill Country, said earlier that 21 children have died in the flooding. Officials speaking at the press conference on Sunday afternoon said the destruction killed three people in Burnet County, one in Tom Green county, five in Travis county and one in Williamson county. Officials said on Saturday that more than 850 people had been rescued, including some clinging to trees, after a sudden storm dumped up to 38cm of rain across the region, about 140 km northwest of San Antonio. Ginger Turner, and her daughter, Hailey, right, pray during church services held at the Hunt Baptist Church. Their small town sits on the bank of the Guadalupe River and was severely damaged by recent flooding. Source: AP / Rodolfo Gonzalez "Everyone in the community is hurting," Leitha told reporters. The Federal Emergency Management Agency was activated on Sunday and is deploying resources to first responders in Texas after President Donald Trump issued a major disaster declaration, the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement. United States Coast Guard helicopters and planes are helping the search and rescue efforts, DHS said. Homeland Security secretary Kristi Noem said a "moderate" flood watch issued on Thursday by the National Weather Service had not accurately predicted the extreme rainfall and said the administration was working to upgrade the system. More rain was expected in the area on Sunday. The National Weather Service issued a flood watch for Kerr County until 1pm local time. The disaster unfolded rapidly on Friday morning as heavier-than-forecast rain drove river waters rapidly to as high as nine metres. Camp Mystic had 700 girls in residence at the time of the flooding. Onlookers survey damage along the Guadalupe River after a flash flood swept through the area. Source: AAP / Eric Gay/AP 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 1.83 metres 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.
