Central Texas residents watched a day of prayer on Sunday, with at least 70 people killed while others disappeared Friday Devastating mountain floodsas the search and rescue operation for survivors began to turn into a grim movement to restore the body.
Relatives continued eagerly awaiting news from 11 girls, and a camp consultant still did not stand out from a riverside summer camp, which was flooded by the Guadalupe River, which rose 26 feet (8 meters) in 45 minutes after the rain fell down in northern San Antonio.
At least 59 people were killed in Kerr County, many of them children Nearby counties reported more deaths.
“We saw bodies all over the place and recovered from the ground,” Kelville City Manager Dalton Rice told reporters at a press conference on Sunday.
Authorities said about 850 people were rescued and more than 400 people participated in the search and rescue operation.
By Sunday morning, the water level dropped to a foot or two before the flooding.
Further rains on Saturday and Sunday mornings prevented the search efforts of crew members using vessels, helicopters and drones. Texas Governor Greg Abbott promised that responders would stay on the scene until everyone was restored. He said he directed the respondents to believe that all missing persons are still alive.
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem at Donald Trump, Texas Announced on social media He signed a federal emergency declaration that will release more resources to support local efforts. Trump also released a letter saying that the Federal Emergency Administration (FEMA)’s Benjamin Abbott will coordinate federal efforts. In May, the agency’s agent administrator Fired After he told Congress, he did not see it as “eliminating the best interests of the American people”, Trump and Norm said they intend to do so.
Noem defended the federal response to the disaster in a press conference Saturday afternoon and promised “reliefs will come.” However, the problem continues to erupt against the Trump administration’s actions, which could lead to the seriousness of the incident.
In particular, strict budget cuts affecting the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have cut many key Insufficient weather forecast officesincluding the National Weather Service (NWS) Austin-San Antonio office.
Officials defended the service on Sunday, insisting on warnings of mountain torrents Issued in advance. But some residents said they didn’t receive them – Texas Lieutenant Dan Patrick admitted it on Fox News Sunday. The initial NWS prediction only required 3-6 inches of rain – not a strong downpour that triggered deadly floods.
Washington Post Report On Friday morning, Kerrville and Edwards Plateau fell in the rain in the Texas Hill Country and Texas Hill.
Matthew Stone, 44, of Kerrville, said police 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.”
Questions about emergencies and emergency alerts caused by Kerr County are asked about the latest danger posted on Facebook late at night are unlikely to be seen by dangerous people. Local officials Tell the New York Times Emergency alert systems are expensive and taxpayers in the county didn’t want to pay for it before.
Republican Texas Congressman Chip Roy, whose districts include Kerr County, said in a Sunday news conference that actions taken before and during the flood will be reviewed.
“There will be a lot of indexes, second guess,” he said. “There are a lot of people saying ‘why’ and ‘how’, and I understand that.”
Abbott said he visited Mystic Camp late Saturday, a popular Christian summer resort for girls on the Guadalupe River in Hunt.
The camp was attended by more than 750 girls during the flood, flooding the camp, sweeping away 27 people who were initially missing. Officials said the number of missing persons had dropped to 12 by Sunday as the death toll climbed.
Sarah Marsh is an eight-year-old girl from Mount Brook, Alabama, who is at the camp, Found dead on Saturdaylike Dick Eastland, the camp’s long-time director was reportedly found along with three girls he was trying to rescue. Eastland’s son Tell the Washington Post His father tried to rescue the girl in Bubble Inn Kive about 150 yards from the river.
Abbott said in X’s post after visiting the ruins of Mystic Camp Mystic with rescuers: “Its river running beside has suffered horrible damage in a different way than I did in any natural disaster.”
“The influx of water reached the height of the rooftops was shocking. We wouldn’t stop until we found every girl in each lodge.”
The camp, the long-term residence of the daughter of Texas political elite, imposed cell phone and social media bans on campers, freeing them from distractions and also standing out from two ways of receiving emergency warnings.
Former President George W. Bush and his wife Laura said in a statement that they were “heartbroken by the loss of life and the pain of many people”. Laura Bush worked as a counselor at the camp during college.
It was also confirmed that the deceased was Jane Ragsdale, the director of the nearby Os Hill camp, who was described by a friend as “Community pillar”.
Nim Kidd, head of Texas emergency management decisions, said Friday that the NWS early forecasts “didn’t predict the amount of rain we’re seeing.” His comments prompted Accuweather’s private weather service to defend the service on Sunday, which said in a statement that pre-dawn warnings on Friday “officials should be given plenty of time to evacuate camps such as Mystic and keep people safe.”
Meanwhile, Tom Fahy, legislative director of NWS staff organization, told CNN that he believes the service’s office has “sufficient staffing and resources.” However, he said the Austin-San Antonio office lacks warnings to coordinate meteorologists, a key link between the NWS and emergency managers.
A NOAA official told the network that the vacancy, along with several other key roles, was the result of the White House offering early retirement incentives after Trump’s second presidency began in January.
Abbott said he visited Mystic Camp late Saturday, a popular Christian summer resort for girls on the Guadalupe River in Hunt.
More people’s identities are well known on Sunday Shared an extraordinary story How they survived.
Two children from Dallas, Blair Harber, 13, and her 11-year-old sister Brooke, were confirmed to die from officials at the Catholic high school they attended. They lived with their grandparents in the riverside cabin and they disappeared.
Their father, RJ Harber, lives in an adjacent cottage with his wife, told CNN Blair that “is a gifted student with a generous heart” and that Brooke “like the light in any room, people attract her, she makes them laugh and enjoy the moment.”
High school football coach Reece Zunker and his wife Tina are among the victims of Kerr County Kerryville Daily Times reports -Their two children are missing.
The newspaper is also sure Teacher Jeff Wilson Among the victims, it is unreasonable to have his wife Amber and son Shiloh.
Burnett County officials Tell Khou TV The local fire department head was one of three of them dead.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
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