Rescuers begin a grim task of recovering swept children and adult bodies on Saturday Deadly Floods in Texascaused by a powerful storm that killed dozens of people.
In the afternoon briefing, local officials said 32 people have been confirmed dead, including 14 children and 27 missing. Nim Kidd Texas The Department of Emergency Management admits that the chances of finding more survivors have been reduced, but Texas Governor Greg Abbott said he had directed responders to think that every missing person is still alive.
Missing people include girls attending the Christian summer camp Mystic on the Guadalupe River. 45 minutes before dawn on Friday, raising rains caused the river to rise 26 feet (8 meters) and wash homes and vehicles.
Five adults and three children remain unidentified in the bodies recovered so far, officials said.
A girl who attended the camp, Renee Smajstrla, nine-year-old, was confirmed dead by her uncle.
“Discovered Renee, although not the result we pray for, social media promotion may help first responders identify her so quickly,” Shawn Salta Write on Facebook. “We are grateful that she has been with her friends and has lived her whole life.”
Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said hundreds of people camped along the river and spent the Independence Day weekend.
Authorities said about 850 people were rescued and more than 1,700 were involved in the search and rescue operations.
Searchers use helicopters and drones to find victims and rescue those stranded by the flood. The confirmed death toll will almost certainly rise, although hopefully some of these affected people will still be alive. “They may be in the trees, maybe in communication,” said Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick. “We are praying that all the missing people will be alive.”
The danger is not over on Saturday, and there will be flash flood warnings for parts of central Texas. “This is a particularly dangerous situation,” the National Weather Service (NWS) warns. announcement. “Seeking higher ground now!”
Due to the climate crisis, huge downpours like this have become more common around the world, and the warm atmosphere keeps more moisture. In eastern Texas, there already Since 1900, the number of days of heavy rain or snow has increased by 20%, with the intensity of extreme rainfall Start to rise More than 10% over the next decade.
In areas affected by the Texas floods, parents and families posted photos and pleas of missing loved ones for information. “The camp was destroyed,” said 13-year-old Elinor Lester, one of the hundreds of campers at the mysterious camp. “The helicopter landed and started taking people away. It was really horrible.”
She said a violent storm woke her and her cottage companion, after midnight on Friday – when rescuers arrived, they tied a rope for the girls to hold as they walked across a bridge and the flood whipped in their legs.
The flooding in the middle of the night during the Fourth of July surprised many residents, campers and officials. Officials prepare for their bad weather and reactions, but they say they did not expect such a strong downpour, which is actually a few months worth of rain in the area.
Kidd of Texas Emergency Management said a NWS forecast this week only requires 3-6 inches (76-152mm) of rain this week.
“It doesn’t predict the amount of rain we’re seeing,” he said.
Saturday’s death raises questions about whether the Trump administration is wise In-depth budget and layoffs Since his second presidency began in January, it has been in the NWS and other federal government agencies.
“After media reports and expert warnings, drastic cuts [NWS] Trump could damage their predictive power and dangerous seasons, and Texas officials blame NWS predictions on the fatal outcome of floods,” Ron Filipkowski, editor of free news website Meidastouch, editor of Meidastouch, Meidastouch, editor of Meidastouch, Write On X.
But CBS Austin meteorologist Avery Tomasco defended the forecaster after local officials claimed they were not warned of potential dangers. “The National Weather Service issued flood surveillance for Kerr County more than 12 hours before the catastrophic flood.” Thomasco wrote. “Hunt issued a flash flood warning [and] Guadalupe started climbing in the Ingram 3 hours before it started. They did their own work and did a good job. ”
Trump spoke about the deadly flooding shortly before 11 a.m. Eastern Time on Saturday. On his truth social platform, he said his administration is working with state and local officials – he and First Lady Melania Trump are “praying for all families.”
The afternoon press conference began with a series of long and long self-appreciation remarks and praises to Trump, including Abbott, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Senator John Cornyn and Representative Chip Roy. They didn’t provide the latest news about the missing and the dead until reporters pressed them to obtain detailed information on the rescue and recovery efforts.
Bob Fogarty, a meteorologist at the Austin/San Antonio office in the NWS, said a river meter near the Mystic Camp recorded about 22 feet (6.7 meters) of about two hours in about two hours. After recording a level of 29.5 feet (9 meters), the gauge failed.
“The water moves so fast that you don’t realize how bad it is until it’s on you,” Fogarty said.
On the Facebook page of the Kerr County Sheriff’s Office, people posted photos of loved ones and begged for help to find them.
In Ingram, Erin Burgess woke up in the middle of the night on Friday. She said that in just 20 minutes, the water poured directly into the home across the river. She described a painful hour clinging to the tree, waiting for the water to recede enough to walk along the hill to the neighbor’s home.
“My son and my son floated on the tree we hung above, and my boyfriend and my dog surfaced,” she said. “He got lost for a while, but we found them.”
“Luckily, he was over 6 feet tall. That was the only thing that saved me – hanging on him,” Burgess said in her 19-year-old son.
Matthew Stone, 44, of Kerrville, said officers crashed into the door but he received no warning on the phone.
“We don’t have an emergency alarm. Nothing” until suddenly there was a “black wall of death.”
In a reunion center established in Ingram, families cried and cheered as loved ones got off the vehicle equipped with evacuees. Two soldiers were carrying an older woman who was unable to climb down the ladder. Behind her, a woman was holding a little white dog.
Later, a girl in a white camp mysterious T-shirt and white socks stood in a puddle and cried in her mother’s arms.
Barry Adelman, 54, said Water pushed everyone in his three-story house into the attic, including his 94-year-old grandmother and nine-year-old grandson. Before finally retreating, the water begins to pass through the attic floor.
“I’m scared,” he said. “I had to look at my grandson’s face and tell him that everything would be fine, but I was afraid of death inside.”
The forecast requires rain and flood surveillance escalated to overnight with at least 30,000 people.
The Lieutenant Governor pointed out that the potential of heavy rain and floods covers a large area.
“It’s all about getting their heads rained, and we’re not sure where it’s going to land,” Patrick said. “Obviously it was dark last night and we entered the early hours of the hour, and that was when the storm started to zero.”
When asked how to inform people in Kerr County so they can be safe, the county’s chief officer, Judge Rob Kelly, said: “We don’t have a warning system.”
When reporters pushed for why no more precautions were taken, Kelly said: “Don’t worry – no one knows this flood is coming.”
Austin Dickson, CEO of the Texas Mountain Country Community Foundation, said the area is called “Flood Lane” because the mountains are thin soil.
“When it rains, the water doesn’t get into the soil,” Dixon said. “It’s heading up the hill.”
River tourism is a key part of Hill’s national economy. Dickson said that the century-old summer camp is known to attract children from all over the country.
“It’s usually a very peaceful river, and people have been drawn to the truly beautiful blue water for generations,” Dixon said.
The Associated Press contributed the report
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