Fears grow that Texas floods death toll could surge
Workers in central Texas continued to comb through piles of muddy debris from the July 4 floods as Governor Greg Abbott ordered flags to be lowered to half-staff over the tragedy.
Officials in Kerr County, the epicenter of the flooding, on Wednesday confirmed 161 people were known to be missing in the county.
Part of a Hill Country region in central Texas known as "Flash Flood Alley," Kerr County suffered the most damage, with at least 95 fatalities including 36 children, Sheriff Larry Leitha told reporters.
Among them, counselors and 27 girls at a summer camp who went missing early Friday when the Guadalupe River burst its banks.
Five campers and one counselor from Camp Mystic were still missing as of Wednesday, along with another child not associated with the camp, Leitha said.
Two dozen other people have been confirmed dead elsewhere in the state, according to an AFP tally of official reports.
More than 2,000 rescue personnel, police and experts have descended on the flood zone in what Leitha described as an "all hands on deck" operation.
Ben Baker, with the Texas Game Wardens, said search and rescue efforts involving helicopters, drones and dogs were difficult because of the water, mud and debris.
"When we're trying to make these recoveries, these large piles can be very obstructive, and to get in deep into these piles, it's very hazardous," Baker said.
Meanwhile, questions intensified over whether US President Donald Trump's government funding cuts had weakened warning systems, and over the handling of the rescue operation.
During sometimes tense news conferences Tuesday and Wednesday, officials skirted questions on the speed of the emergency response.
"There's going to be an after-action" review of what happened, Sheriff Leitha said, adding "those questions need to be answered."
But officials stressed that the immediate focus was on locating the missing and reuniting families.
- 'Door to door' -
Kerrville police officer Jonathan Lamb spoke of heroic rescues by authorities and volunteers who evacuated hundreds of people from their homes or vehicles.
Officers went "door to door, waking people up" in Kerr County early Friday and in some cases "pulling them out of windows" of flooding homes and trailers, Lamb told reporters.
The tragedy, "as horrific as it is, could have been so much worse," he added.
The National Weather Service (NWS) has forecast scattered storms on Wednesday in the Hill Country, including isolated pockets of heavy rain.
In the neighboring state of New Mexico, flash flooding left three people dead Tuesday in Ruidoso, the village website said in a statement, adding the Ruidoso River rose to a record-breaking 20 feet (six meters).
- Bodies in the mud -
In the Texas town of Hunt, an AFP team saw recovery workers combing through piles of debris with helicopters flying overhead.
Javier Torres, 24, was digging through mud as he searched for his grandmother, after having located the body of his grandfather.
He also discovered the bodies of two children, apparently washed up by the river.
Trump is due to visit Texas on Friday with First Lady Melania Trump.
"We brought in a lot of helicopters from all over... They were real pros, and they were responsible for pulling out a lot of people," Trump said of the response.
Shel Winkley, a weather expert at the Climate Central research group, blamed the extent of the disaster on geography and exceptional drought, when dry soil absorbs less rainfall.
"This part of Texas, at least in the Kerr County flood specifically, was in an extreme to exceptional drought.... We know that since May, temperatures have been above average," Winkley told reporters.
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News.com.au
5 days ago
- News.com.au
Fears grow that Texas floods death toll could surge
The Texas flash floods death toll rose to 119 on Wednesday, as worries grew that the figure could more than double with over 160 people still reported missing. Workers in central Texas continued to comb through piles of muddy debris from the July 4 floods as Governor Greg Abbott ordered flags to be lowered to half-staff over the tragedy. Officials in Kerr County, the epicenter of the flooding, on Wednesday confirmed 161 people were known to be missing in the county. Part of a Hill Country region in central Texas known as "Flash Flood Alley," Kerr County suffered the most damage, with at least 95 fatalities including 36 children, Sheriff Larry Leitha told reporters. Among them, counselors and 27 girls at a summer camp who went missing early Friday when the Guadalupe River burst its banks. Five campers and one counselor from Camp Mystic were still missing as of Wednesday, along with another child not associated with the camp, Leitha said. Two dozen other people have been confirmed dead elsewhere in the state, according to an AFP tally of official reports. More than 2,000 rescue personnel, police and experts have descended on the flood zone in what Leitha described as an "all hands on deck" operation. Ben Baker, with the Texas Game Wardens, said search and rescue efforts involving helicopters, drones and dogs were difficult because of the water, mud and debris. "When we're trying to make these recoveries, these large piles can be very obstructive, and to get in deep into these piles, it's very hazardous," Baker said. Meanwhile, questions intensified over whether US President Donald Trump's government funding cuts had weakened warning systems, and over the handling of the rescue operation. During sometimes tense news conferences Tuesday and Wednesday, officials skirted questions on the speed of the emergency response. "There's going to be an after-action" review of what happened, Sheriff Leitha said, adding "those questions need to be answered." But officials stressed that the immediate focus was on locating the missing and reuniting families. - 'Door to door' - Kerrville police officer Jonathan Lamb spoke of heroic rescues by authorities and volunteers who evacuated hundreds of people from their homes or vehicles. Officers went "door to door, waking people up" in Kerr County early Friday and in some cases "pulling them out of windows" of flooding homes and trailers, Lamb told reporters. The tragedy, "as horrific as it is, could have been so much worse," he added. The National Weather Service (NWS) has forecast scattered storms on Wednesday in the Hill Country, including isolated pockets of heavy rain. In the neighboring state of New Mexico, flash flooding left three people dead Tuesday in Ruidoso, the village website said in a statement, adding the Ruidoso River rose to a record-breaking 20 feet (six meters). - Bodies in the mud - In the Texas town of Hunt, an AFP team saw recovery workers combing through piles of debris with helicopters flying overhead. Javier Torres, 24, was digging through mud as he searched for his grandmother, after having located the body of his grandfather. He also discovered the bodies of two children, apparently washed up by the river. Trump is due to visit Texas on Friday with First Lady Melania Trump. "We brought in a lot of helicopters from all over... They were real pros, and they were responsible for pulling out a lot of people," Trump said of the response. Shel Winkley, a weather expert at the Climate Central research group, blamed the extent of the disaster on geography and exceptional drought, when dry soil absorbs less rainfall. "This part of Texas, at least in the Kerr County flood specifically, was in an extreme to exceptional drought.... We know that since May, temperatures have been above average," Winkley told reporters.
SBS Australia
6 days ago
- SBS Australia
Questions about lead-up to deadly Texas floods as more than 180 remain missing
Torrential rains struck a region of Texas last Friday, unleashing deadly flooding. The death toll has risen past 100, including children. There have been questions raised about the county's emergency management operations and preparedness. The death toll from a flash flood that ravaged an area of Texas has risen to 109, many of them children, as search teams press on through mounds of mud-encrusted debris looking for scores of people still missing. According to figures released by Texas governor Gregg Abbott on Wednesday AEST, authorities were searching for more than 180 people who remain unaccounted for, four days after one of the deadliest US flood events in decades. The bulk of fatalities and the search for additional victims were concentrated in Kerr County and the county seat of Kerrville, a town of 25,000 residents transformed into a disaster zone when torrential rains struck the region early on Friday, flooding the Guadalupe River basin. The bodies of 94 flood victims, about a third of them children, have been recovered in Kerr County alone, Abbott said during a news conference after touring the area by air. The Kerr County dead include 27 campers and counsellors from Camp Mystic, a nearly century-old all-girls Christian summer retreat on the banks of the Guadalupe near the town of Hunt. The camp director also died. Five girls and a camp counsellor were still unaccounted, Abbott said, along with another child not associated with the camp. Twenty-seven campers and counsellors from a century-old, all-girls Christian summer retreat called Camp Mystic were among the dead. Source: AAP / AP / Eli Hartman Fifteen other flood-related fatalities had been confirmed across a swathe of Texas Hill Country known as "flash flood alley", the governor said, bringing the overall tally of lives lost to 109. Reports from local sheriffs' and media have put the number of flood deaths outside Kerr County at 22. But authorities have said they were bracing for the death toll to climb as flood waters recede and the search for more victims gains momentum. Law enforcement agencies have compiled a list of 161 people "known to be missing" in Kerr County alone, Abbott said. The roster was checked against those who might be out of touch with loved ones or neighbours because they were away on holiday or out of town, according to the governor. He said another 12 people were missing elsewhere across the flood zone as a whole, a sprawling area northwest of San Antonio. LISTEN TO SBS News 08/07/2025 05:21 English Hindered by intermittent thunderstorms and showers, rescue teams from federal agencies, neighbouring states and Mexico have joined local efforts to search for missing victims, though hopes of finding more survivors faded as time passed. The last victim found alive in Kerr County was on Friday. "The work is extremely treacherous, time-consuming," lieutenant colonel Ben Baker of the Texas Game Wardens said at a press conference. "It's dirty work. The water is still there." More than a foot of rain fell in the region in less than an hour before dawn last Friday, sending a wall of water cascading down the Guadalupe that killed dozens of people and left mangled piles of debris, uprooted trees and overturned vehicles. Questions about flood warnings Local, state and federal emergency officials have faced days of questions about whether they could have alerted people in flood-prone areas sooner. State emergency management officials had warned on Thursday, on the eve of the disaster, that parts of central Texas faced the possibility of flash floods based on National Weather Service forecasts. But twice as much rain as 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. Rice has said the outcome was unforeseen and unfolded in a matter of two hours, leaving too little time to conduct a precautionary mass evacuation without the risk of placing more people in harm's way. Scientists have said extreme flood events are growing more common as climate change creates warmer, wetter weather patterns in Texas and other parts of the country. US President Donald Trump plans to visit the devastated region this week, a spokesperson said. Democrats in Washington have called for an official investigation into whether the Trump administration's job cuts at the National Weather Service affected the agency's response to the floods.
SBS Australia
6 days ago
- SBS Australia
More than 100 dead and 160 still missing after Texas floods
Torrential rains struck a region of Texas last Friday, unleashing deadly flooding. The death toll has risen past 100, including children. There have been questions raised about the county's emergency management operations and preparedness. The death toll from a flash flood that ravaged a part of Texas in the United States last week has risen to at least 109, many of them children, as search teams pressed on through mounds of mud-encrusted debris for scores of people still missing. The bulk of fatalities and the search for additional victims were concentrated in Kerr County and the county seat of Kerrville, a town of 25,000 residents transformed into a disaster zone when torrential rains struck the region early last Friday, unleashing deadly flooding along the Guadalupe River. The bodies of 94 flood victims, more than a third of them children, have been recovered in Kerr County alone as of Tuesday, Texas governor Greg Abbott said at a late-afternoon news conference after touring the area by air. He said 161 other people were known to be missing in the flood zone. The Kerr County dead included 27 campers and counsellors from Camp Mystic, a nearly century-old all-girls Christian summer retreat on the banks of the Guadalupe near the town of Hunt. The camp director also perished. Five girls and a camp counsellor were still unaccounted for on Tuesday, Abbott said, along with another child not associated with the camp. Twenty-seven campers and counsellors from a century-old, all-girls Christian summer retreat called Camp Mystic were among the dead. Source: AAP / AP / Eli Hartman As of midday, 15 other flood-related fatalities had been confirmed across a swath of Texas Hill Country known as "flash flood alley", the governor said, bringing the overall death toll from the disaster to 109. Reports from local sheriffs' and media have put the number of flood deaths outside Kerr County at 22. Hindered by continuing intermittent thunderstorms and showers, rescue teams from federal agencies, neighbouring states and Mexico have joined local efforts to search for missing victims, though hopes of finding more survivors faded as time passed. The last flood victim found alive in Kerr County was on Friday. "The work is extremely treacherous, time-consuming," lieutenant colonel Ben Baker of the Texas Game Wardens said at a press conference. "It's dirty work. The water is still there." Questions over flood warnings More than a foot of rain fell in the region in less than an hour before dawn last Friday, sending a wall of water cascading down the Guadalupe River basin that killed dozens of people and left behind mangled piles of debris, uprooted trees and vehicles. Local, state and federal emergency officials have faced days of angry questions about whether they could have warned people in flood-prone areas sooner. At an earlier news briefing on Tuesday, Kerr County sheriff Larry Leitha rebuffed questions about the county's emergency management operations and preparedness and declined to say who in the county was ultimately in charge of monitoring weather alerts and issuing a flood warning or evacuation orders. LISTEN TO SBS News 08/07/2025 05:21 English He said his office first started receiving emergency 911 calls between 4am and 5am local time on Friday, several hours after the local National Weather Service station issued a flash-flood alert. "We're in the process of trying to put (together) a timeline," Leitha said. US President Donald Trump plans to visit the devastated region this week, a spokesperson said. Democrats in Washington have called for an official investigation into whether the Trump administration's job cuts at the National Weather Service affected the agency's response to the floods.
