The July Fourth weekend deluge in Texas that caused catastrophic flash flooding has killed at least 89 people, as 11 people from a summer camp, mostly children, remain missing.
“This will be a rough week,” said Kerrville Mayor Joe Herring Jr., as officials gave an update Monday morning on search efforts.
So far, 75 of the confirmed deaths statewide have occurred in Kerr County, including 27 children.
Dalton Rice, city manager for Kerrville, said first responders are still operating under what they consider a “primary search phase,” three days after an intense downpour that was the equivalent of months’ worth of rain for the area. Rice said boats, helicopters, drones and dogs are all being utilized in the search effort, in addition to foot patrols.
But, he said, the search area is large and complicated in some areas due to the effects of the rain.
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said at the news conference that the situation in Kerr County is “every parent’s nightmare.”
“The pain and agony of not knowing your children’s whereabouts is the worst thing imaginable,” said Cruz.
Time-lapse video provided to Reuters by a witness shows floodwaters rising on July 4 in Kingsland, Texas, as part of the state endured devastating flash flooding.
‘Our hearts are broken’
Ten children and one counselor from Camp Mystic remain unaccounted for, the officials said.
The owners of Camp Mystic, an all-girls Christian camp in the county, confirmed earlier Monday that 27 of their campers and counsellors had died.
“Our hearts are broken alongside our families that are enduring this unimaginable tragedy. We are praying for them constantly,” the camp wrote in a statement on its website.
Friday’s flash floods started with a particularly bad storm that dropped most of its 12 inches (30 centimetres) of rain in the dark, early morning hours, in a part of the state that is naturally prone to flash flooding due to the dry, dirt-packed areas where the soil lets rain skid along the surface of the landscape instead of soaking it up. Overflow from the Guadalupe River swept away people sleeping in tents, cabins and homes.
“My hope is, in time, we learn some lessons to implement the next time there is a flood,” said Cruz.
Twelve other deaths were reported in Travis, Burnet, Kendall, Tom Green and Williamson counties, according to local officials.
Forecasters have issued a flood watch for San Antonio and Austin on Monday. Slow-moving, heavy rainfall is expected to reach up to 10 additional centimetres, the U.S. National Weather Service (NWS) said.
The flood watch lasts through 7 p.m. local time.
The National Weather Service’s San Antonio office is responsible for forecasting the area’s weather, collecting climate data and warning the public about dangerous conditions. The office issued multiple alerts Thursday afternoon and Friday morning about flash flood risks, according to local meteorologists.
“Even though those messages were issued, it does not mean it got to the people who needed them,” said Erik Nielsen, who studies extreme rain at Texas A&M University.
The NWS is an agency that is part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. As with many parts of the government, it has been subject early in Donald Trump’s second presidential term to cost-cutting efforts, though it’s not clear if the jobs cuts led to any deterioration in forecasting for the Texas weather event.
