KERRVILLE, TXAs rescuers navigated difficult terrain and Texans were asked to hope that any survivors would be discovered, the exhausting and heartbreaking search for 27 missing girls continued into a third day on Sunday after torrential floodwaters poured into a summer camp.
The majority of the deaths occurred in Kerr County, which is located in the state’s Hill Country, where at least 51 individuals, including 15 children, were murdered. In addition to the 43 fatalities in Kerr County, there were also four reported deaths in Travis, three in Burnet, and one in Kendall.
In their challenging search for survivors, rescuers had to battle with overturned vehicles, shattered trees, and debris covered in mud. Beyond the youngsters from Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp along the Guadalupe River in Kerr County where the majority of the deceased were found, authorities have yet to disclose the number of those still unaccounted for.
Homes and cars were washed away by the swift, damaging floods, which climbed 26 feet (8 meters) on the river in just forty-five minutes before daylight on Friday. At least one flash flood warning was still in force in central Texas on Sunday, so the threat was far from ended.
In order to find casualties and rescue individuals trapped in trees and in camps cut off by washed-out roadways, searchers deployed helicopters, boats, and drones.
Authorities will work around the clock, Gov. Greg Abbott promised, adding that as the water receded, additional areas were being explored. He declared Sunday to be the state’s day of prayer.
In a statement, he urged all Texans to join him in prayer this Sunday for the lives lost, the missing, our towns’ recovery, and the security of those fighting on the front lines.
For those affected by the tragedy, Pope Leo XIV offered extra prayers. At the conclusion of his Sunday noon blessing, the first American pope in history spoke in English. I would like to offer my deepest sympathies to all the families who have lost loved ones in the Guadalupe River flooding disaster in Texas, especially their daughters who were attending summer camp. We offer up prayers for them.
Authorities were being questioned about whether adequate warnings were given and whether adequate preparations were taken for the camps and people in areas that have historically been susceptible to flooding.
Generations of families have come to swim and enjoy the outdoors at the century-old youth camps and campers scattered throughout the hills around the Guadalupe River. It is more challenging to determine the number of missing people because the location is particularly crowded around the Independence Day vacation.
Dalton Rice, the city manager of Kerrville, has stated, “We don’t even want to begin to estimate at this time.”
In the middle of the night, a raging storm struck the camp.
According to 13-year-old Elinor Lester, one of the hundreds of campers, the camp was totally destroyed. After landing, a chopper began removing passengers. It was quite frightening.
Just after midnight on Friday, her cabin was awakened by the fierce storm that was driven by an abundance of moisture. “The girls were walking across a bridge with water whipping around their legs when rescuers arrived, so they tied a rope for them to hold,” she said.
Families and parents in a panic shared pictures of their missing loved ones along with information requests.
The director of another camp up the road and an 8-year-old child from Mountain Brook, Alabama, who was at Camp Mystic, were among those confirmed dead.
Many locals, campers, and officials were taken aback by the overnight inundation.
The National Weather Service and the commercial forecasting firm issued warnings about possible flash floods hours in advance, according to AccuWeather.
According to a statement from AccuWeather, officials should have had enough time to evacuate campgrounds like Camp Mystic and transport people to safety because of these warnings. Because of its topography and numerous water crossings, it ranked the Hill Country as one of the U.S. regions most vulnerable to flash floods.
After keeping an eye on the weather at the Mo-Ranch Camp near the town of Hunt, administrators decided to relocate several hundred campers and guests of a church youth conference to higher ground. The day before their second summer session ended on Thursday, organizers at neighboring Camps Rio Vista and Sierra Vista likewise posted on social media that they were keeping an eye on the weather.
The area has seen months’ worth of rain, and authorities and elected leaders have stated that they did not anticipate such a heavy precipitation.
Calling it a once-in-a-century flood, U.S. Representative Chip Roy, whose district encompasses the devastated area, recognized that there will be finger-pointing and second-guessing as people try to find someone to blame.
Drones and helicopters are utilized in a desperate quest.
According to Rice, search teams had to endure difficult circumstances as they searched every conceivable place.
According to officials, tremendous attempts were made in the camps to save children, and over 850 individuals were evacuated in the last 36 hours.
Upon her arrival, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem promised that the Trump administration would make every effort. Even in the dark, Coast Guard aircraft and helicopters were helping to keep things running smoothly.
After receiving hundreds of evacuees the previous day, one elementary school’s reunion center remained largely empty.
People are still coming here in search of their loved ones. Bobby Templeton, the superintendent of the Ingram Independent School District, stated that there has been some success, but not much.
People ran to attics and clung to trees.
Erin Burgess woke up in the middle of the night in Ingram to the sound of thunder and rain. She described an excruciating hour spent clinging to a tree with her teenage son after water poured into her house just twenty minutes later.
While my boyfriend and my dog drifted away, my son and I floated to a tree and grabbed onto it. We found them, she replied, but he was lost for a while.
Barry Adelman claimed that water forced his nine-year-old grandson and his 94-year-old grandmother into the attic of his three-story home.
“I was terrified on the inside, but I had to face my grandson and assure him that everything would be fine,” he added.
Locals refer to the area as a flash flood.
According to Austin Dickson, CEO of the Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country, which was gathering donations, water does not seep into the soil when it rains. Down the hill it rushes.
No one anticipated this.
Rain was predicted over the weekend, and at least 30,000 people were under a flood watch that was raised to a warning overnight Friday.
We are aware that it rains. We are aware that the river increases. However, the county’s top elected official, Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly, stated that no one anticipated this.
About six or seven years ago, the county had contemplated installing a flood warning system on the river that would have functioned similarly to a tornado warning siren. However, Kelly stated that the plan was never implemented and that the expense would have been a problem.
During a helicopter tour, Kelly said he was devastated to witness the destruction on the ground and the body bags at the funeral home.
As anticipated, the rescue has proceeded smoothly. “It’s time for the recovery now,” he remarked. And that will take a lot of time and effort on our part.
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Seewer reported from Toledo, Ohio, and Cortez from Hunt, Texas. Contributions were made by Associated Press writers Nicole Winfield in Rome, Susan Haigh in Hartford, Connecticut, and Susan Montoya Bryan in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
