In an increasingly hopeless search for survivors, including 27 girls who have not been seen since their camp was struck by a wall of water in a historic flash flood, rescuers searched a devastated central Texas landscape on Saturday that was covered in mangled trees, overturned cars, and muck-filled debris.
At least eight people died in neighboring counties, while at least forty-three individuals, including fifteen children, perished in Kerr County’s floodwaters.
Beyond the youngsters from Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp by a 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 catastrophic, swift-moving waves that climbed 26 feet (8 meters) on the Guadalupe River in just forty-five minutes before daylight on Friday. With flash flood warnings and watches still in force and storms still pelting neighborhoods west of San Antonio on Saturday, the threat was far from finished.
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.
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 campgrounds scattered over the hills along the Guadalupe River in central Texas. It is more challenging to determine the number of missing people because the location is very crowded around the July Fourth celebration.
Dalton Rice, the city manager of Kerrville, has stated, “We don’t even want to begin to estimate at this time.”
Raging storm hit camp in middle of the night
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, the fierce storm that was fuelled by an unbelievable amount of moisture woke up her cabin. “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 nearby 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.
Officials and elected officials have stated that they were not prepared for such a heavy downpour, which is comparable to months’ worth of rain in the region.
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.
Helicopters and drones used in frantic search
According to Rice, search teams had to deal with difficult circumstances as they searched every conceivable place.
Over 850 individuals have been evacuated in the past 36 hours, according to officials, and children have been saved in the camps thanks to valiant efforts.
Upon her arrival, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem promised that the Trump administration would make every effort. Coast Guard aircraft and helicopters were helping to make sure that operations could go on even in the dark.
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 clung to trees and fled to attics
Erin Burgess woke up in the middle of the night in Ingram to the sound of thunder and rain. She claimed that water started rushing into her house just twenty minutes later. She told of an excruciating hour she and her teenage son spent hanging to a tree.
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.
The locals refer to the area as “flash floodalley.”
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.
Nobody saw this coming
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. But no one anticipated this, said Rob Kelly, the chief elected official of Kerr County.
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.
By Associated Press’s Jim Vertuno, Julio Cortez, and John Seewer
