Risk of further floods in Texas during desperate search for missing as death toll tops 80
Share and Follow


KERRVILLE, Texas (AP) — With more rain on the way, the risk of life-threatening flooding was still high in central Texas on Monday even as crews search urgently for the missing following a holiday weekend deluge that killed at least 82 people, including children at summer camps. Officials said the death toll was sure to rise.

Residents of Kerr County began clearing mud and salvaging what they could from their demolished properties as they recounted harrowing escapes from rapidly rising floodwaters late Friday.

Reagan Brown said his parents, in their 80s, managed to escape uphill as water inundated their home in the town of Hunt. When the couple learned that their 92-year-old neighbor was trapped in her attic, they went back and rescued her.

“Then they were able to reach their toolshed up higher ground, and neighbors throughout the early morning began to show up at their toolshed, and they all rode it out together,” Brown said.

A few miles away, rescuers maneuvering through challenging terrain filled with snakes continued their search for the missing, including 10 girls and a counselor from Camp Mystic, an all-girls summer camp that sustained massive damage.

Gov. Greg Abbott said 41 people were unaccounted for across the state and more could be missing.

In the Hill Country area, home to several summer camps, searchers have found the bodies of 68 people, including 28 children, Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said.

Ten other deaths were reported in Travis, Burnet, Kendall, Tom Green and Williamson counties, according to local officials.

The governor warned that additional rounds of heavy rains lasting into Tuesday could produce more dangerous flooding, especially in places already saturated.

Families were allowed to look around the camp beginning Sunday morning. One girl walked out of a building carrying a large bell. A man whose daughter was rescued from a cabin on the highest point in the camp walked a riverbank, looking in clumps of trees and under big rocks.

One family left with a blue footlocker. A teenage girl had tears running down her face as they slowly drove away and she gazed through the open window at the wreckage.

Searching the disaster zone

Nearby crews operating heavy equipment pulled tree trunks and tangled branches from the river. With each passing hour, the outlook of finding more survivors became even more bleak.

Volunteers and some families of the missing came to the disaster zone and searched despite being asked not to do so.

Authorities faced growing questions about whether enough warnings were issued in an area long vulnerable to flooding and whether enough preparations were made.

President Donald Trump signed a major disaster declaration Sunday for Kerr County and said he would likely visit Friday: “I would have done it today, but we’d just be in their way.”

“It’s a horrible thing that took place, absolutely horrible,” he told reporters.

Prayers in Texas — and from the Vatican

Gov. Greg Abbott vowed that authorities will work around the clock and said new areas were being searched as the water receded. He declared Sunday a day of prayer for the state.

In Rome, Pope Leo XIV offered special prayers for those touched by the disaster. The first American pope spoke in English at the end of his Sunday noon blessing, saying, “I would like to express sincere condolences to all the families who have lost loved ones, in particular their daughters who were in summer camp, in the disaster caused by the flooding of the Guadalupe River in Texas in the United States. We pray for them.”

Desperate refuge and trees and attics

Survivors shared terrifying stories of being swept away and clinging to trees as rampaging floodwaters carried trees and cars past them. Others fled to attics, praying the water wouldn’t reach them.

At Camp Mystic, a cabin full of girls held onto a rope strung by rescuers as they walked across a bridge with water whipping around their legs.

Among those confirmed dead were an 8-year-old girl from Mountain Brook, Alabama, who was at Camp Mystic, and the director of another camp up the road.

Two school-age sisters from Dallas were missing after their cabin was swept away. Their parents were staying in a different cabin and were safe, but the girls’ grandparents were unaccounted for.

Warnings came before the disaster

On Thursday the National Weather Service 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 — a rare alert notifying of imminent danger.

Authorities and elected officials have said they did not expect such an intense downpour, the equivalent of months’ worth of rain for the area.

Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice said authorities are committed to a full review of the emergency response.

Trump, asked whether he was still planning to phase out the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said that was something “we can talk about later, but right now we are busy working.” He has said he wants to overhaul if not completely eliminate FEMA and sharply criticized its performance.

Trump also was asked whether he planned to rehire any of the federal meteorologists who were fired this year as part of widespread government spending cuts.

“I would think not. This was a thing that happened in seconds. Nobody expected it. Nobody saw it. Very talented people there, and they didn’t see it,” the president said.

___

Seewer reported from Toledo, Ohio. Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Christopher Weber in Los Angeles; Adrian Sainz in Memphis, Tennessee; Cedar Attanasio in New York; Sophia Tareen in Chicago; Michelle Price in Morristown, N.J.; and Nicole Winfield in Rome.

Share and Follow
You May Also Like
Jennifer Aniston's 'common ground' with new beau Jim Curtis revealed

Jennifer Aniston’s Connection with New Partner Jim Curtis Uncovered

Jennifer Aniston’s “common ground” with her new beau, Jim Curtis, has been…
Brutal downtown brawl leaves victims bloodied as Cincinnati police launch investigation

Third suspect in brutal Cincinnati beatdown arrested, charged with assault

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! A third person has…
Iconic 90s talk show host is unrecognizable as she enjoys retirement

Famed 90s Talk Show Host Looks Completely Different in Retirement

Fans of ‘90s talk shows were delighted to see one of the…
Tsunami waves arrive on Japan's coast after earthquake in Russia, triggering tsunami alerts for US West Coast

Tsunami waves arrive on Japan’s coast after earthquake in Russia, triggering tsunami alerts for US West Coast

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! Tsunami waves arrived on…
Border czar says ICE arrests include 70% criminals, 30% threats

ICE Arrests: 70% Involve Criminals, While 30% Pose Threats, Border Chief Reveals

() Federal immigration raids have increased across the nation under the Trump…
What is the largest earthquake ever recorded?

The Biggest Earthquake in Recorded History: A Look at the Largest Tremor

(NEXSTAR) An 8.8 magnitude earthquake one of the most powerful in recorded…
Gwyneth Paltrow's savage nickname for Winona Ryder revealed: book

Gwyneth Paltrow’s Cutting Nickname for Winona Ryder Unveiled in New Book

In a startling revelation from Amy Odell’s new biography “Gwyneth,” it is…
Gaza Humanitarian Foundation: What to know about the US-backed aid group

Gaza Humanitarian Foundation: What to know about the US-backed aid group

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! President Donald Trump addressed…