URGENT SEARCH CONTINUES đ Rescue Efforts Intensify in Central Texas After Flash Floods â Death Toll Rises to 82 as Several Girls from Summer Camp Remain Missing đ
Itâs âfrustrating as somebody whoâs looking for, I mean, my whole family, almost,â says Hailey Chavarria, as searches enter third day
KERRVILLE, TexasâThe search for those swept away by punishing flash floods in Central Texas over the holiday weekend took on new urgency Sunday, as the death toll climbed to 82 and nearly a dozen girls from a private summer camp remained missing.
Rescuers combing the swollen banks of the Guadalupe River were holding out hope that survivors might still be found, but bad weather interrupted some ground and air operations. The National Weather Service said heavy rainfall and slow-moving thunderstorms Sunday could create flash floods in the already saturated areas of Texas Hill Country, including hard-hit Kerrville, Texas.
Flash-flood alerts and warnings to move to higher ground hit residents in central Texas communities including Ingram in Kerr County and New Braunfels, just northeast of San Antonio, late Sunday. Thunderstorms and heavy rain poured over portions of the I-35 corridor in Central Texas, the National Weather Service said, and the agency extended a flood watch across parts of Hill Country through 10 p.m. local time. Rescue crews working in a different location around the Guadalupe River were temporarily pulled back as a safety precaution when water rose there as well, authorities said.
The majority of the 82 fatalities thus far were recorded along Guadalupe River basin in Kerr County. Of the 68 dead in Kerr County, 40 were adults and 28 were children, according to the Kerr County Sheriffâs Office. An unknown number of people remained missing, including 10 girls and a counselor from Camp Mystic, a summer camp on the Guadalupe River.
Rescuers paddle an inflatable boat as they search along a waterway following flash flooding, in Kerrville, Texas, on Sunday. Photo: marco bello/Reuters
People search through debris along the Guadalupe River on Sunday. Photo: Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle/AP
Another 14 fatalities were recorded in other flood-hit counties. As many as 41 people were known to be missing statewide, Gov. Greg Abbott said Sunday. That included a Burnet County volunteer fire chief carried away by turbulent water, officials said.
The governor urged central Texans to be âextraordinarily cautiousâ on roads and alert to evacuation warnings for the next 24 to 48 hours because of flash flood risks.
President Trump on Sunday said he had signed a major disaster declaration for Kerr County, where federal resources were already assisting with rescue and recovery work. The president said he would likely visit Texas on Friday, and that he wanted to wait while recovery efforts are ongoing.
The popular Guadalupe River basin had been crowded with families and campers ready to enjoy the July Fourth holiday when pounding rain brought about catastrophic flash floods just before dawn Friday that wiped out homes, carried away vehicles and smashed into RVs and summer cabins.
Janie Hunt, 9 years old, was among the Camp Mystic girls who died, her mother said Sunday. Eight-year-old Sarah Marsh, a camper from Mountain Brook, Ala., also died in the floods, according to the cityâs mayor.
Kerrville resident Stephen Blevins, 55, said he was evacuated from his home along the Guadalupe River around 6 a.m. Friday after a police officer knocked on the door. He had fallen asleep hours earlier to pounding rain, he said.
âThe officer said, âYou gotta go,ââ Blevins said. He was shocked to see the river, roughly 100 yards downhill from the house, lapping at the door. He ran inside to grab a few things and by the time he got out, water was running underneath the porch.
âItâs hard to describe just how fast it rose,â he said. âI never could have imagined it would rise so fast, and uphill.â
Childrenâs clothing dangles from a branch on the bank of the Guadalupe River near Camp Mystic after the floods. Photo: Jim Vondruska/Getty Images
Officials search the grounds of Camp Mystic along the banks of the Guadalupe River. Photo: Julio Cortez/Associated Press
The National Weather Service issued a flood watch for potential flash flooding in parts of Central Texas as early as Thursday afternoon. At about 1 a.m. local time on Friday, after a storm system stalled over the area and dumped far more rain than had been forecast, a warning that flash floods were imminent was issued. By 4 a.m., a flash-flood emergency was issued for the area around Camp Mystic. A wave of water surged through the river, with the worst of the flooding near Camp Mystic happening between about 4 a.m. and 4:30 a.m., according to a flood gauge. In Kerrville, further downstream, the river rose almost 35 feet between 5:15 a.m. and 6:30 a.m. Sirens went off in a neighboring county but Kerr County didnât have such an outdoor warning system. Officials had discussed adopting a better warning system for years but didnât do so.
In Kerrville Saturday night, families and friends of the missing huddled at the Calvary Temple Church. Some went to jot down their contact information and leave it with reunification organizers. Others waited outside, sitting on benches that overlooked the parking lot entrance, hoping vehicles carrying their loved ones would cross the pavement.
Hailey Chavarria, a 28-year-old teacher from Austin, was looking for five of her family members. Her mother, stepfather, uncle, aunt and cousin had disappeared from a local campsite during Fridayâs storms, she said. She had been up until 3 a.m. Saturday trying to find them at various reunification sites. Her fiancĂ© and others searched the banks of the Guadalupe River with flashlights.
