KERRVILLE, July 6 (TNF): Rescuers on Saturday searched for 27 missing girls from a riverside summer camp in Texas. Torrential rains caused deadly floods that have killed 50 people in the state.
Flash flood warnings remained in effect across central Texas. The Guadalupe River rose 26 feet (eight meters) in just 45 minutes, sending water rushing through communities.
At a summer camp in Kerr County, floods left blankets, teddy bears, and belongings caked in mud. “We have recovered 43 bodies in Kerr County. These include 28 adults and 15 children,” said Sheriff Larry Leitha. Other counties also reported deaths, raising the toll to 50.
Texas emergency crews searched by air, ground, and water along the Guadalupe River. “We will search until we find everyone,” said Nim Kidd, chief of the Texas Department of Emergency Management.
Governor Greg Abbott expanded the disaster declaration. He also requested more federal help from President Donald Trump.
The flooding began Friday as heavy rains hit at the start of the Fourth of July holiday weekend. The National Weather Service warned that more rain could trigger further flooding in rivers, creeks, and low-lying areas.
In Kerrville, the Guadalupe River rushed by, filled with debris. “The water reached the top of the trees — about 10 meters high,” said Gerardo Martinez, 61. “Cars and whole houses floated away.”
Flash floods are common, but experts say climate change has made such extreme weather more frequent and intense.
Camp Mystic Devastated
Sheriff Leitha said 27 girls from Camp Mystic were still missing. The camp had about 750 girls along the Guadalupe’s banks. US media reported that four of the missing girls had died.
The flood shattered the windows of camp cabins. Michael, a father, searched for his eight-year-old daughter. “I drove down from Austin when I heard,” he said. He still hoped for a miracle.
Local news sites posted tributes to victims, including Camp Mystic’s owner, Dick Eastland, and Jane Ragsdale, director of the nearby Heart O’ The Hills camp.
Elsewhere, four deaths were confirmed in Travis County. Thirteen people were missing there, officials said. In San Angelo, police found the body of a 62-year-old woman along the Concho River. Two others died in Burnet County.
Officials Call Floods ‘Catastrophic’
Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem said Trump planned to upgrade weather technology. She said the current system needed renewal.
Critics blamed Trump for cuts to the National Weather Service and NOAA. When asked about flood warnings, Noem said she would report concerns to federal leaders.
Officials were stunned by the flood’s speed. “We didn’t know this flood was coming,” said Kerr County’s Rob Kelly. Dalton Rice, a city official, said rainfall was double what forecasters predicted.
Rescue conditions were difficult, Rice said, and he declined to give a final count of those missing.
Soila Reyna, 55, helped flood victims through her church. She called the disaster the worst in years. “Nothing like this. Not where children and so many people lost their lives and homes,” she said.
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