by Texas’s HUNT (AP) Governor Greg Abbott announced Tuesday that more than 160 people are thought to be missing in Texas following the catastrophic floods that killed over 100 people over the July Fourth weekend.
Many of the unaccounted-for individuals, according to Abbott, were lodging in the state’s Hill Country without registering at a motel or camp. He toured the impacted area in a helicopter before speaking at a news conference.
Abbott read what he claimed was a text from U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., in which Kennedy promised to declare a public health emergency, and he added that President Donald Trump has promised to offer whatever assistance Texas needs to recover from the flooding.
Regarding Trump, Abbott remarked: He was unable to stop talking about how sad he was for all the young ladies who had died. Trump was scheduled to travel to the state on Friday.
Public officials tasked with locating victims of the terrible flooding, however, dismissed growing inquiries about who was keeping an eye on the weather and alerting people to the impending floodwaters that were rushing toward houses and camps.
Authorities in Kerr County, where searchers have discovered 87 bodies, stated that recovering victims comes before going over what transpired in the hours prior to the state’s Hill Country being submerged by flash floods.
This staff up here is currently working to get people home. Texas Game Wardens Lt. Col. Ben Baker made this statement during a somewhat heated press conference where officials were asked when they would respond.
Finding survivors was becoming less and less likely. According to officials on Tuesday, no one has been discovered alive in the aftermath of the floods in Kerr County for four days.
Abbott intended to return to Camp Mystic on Tuesday, the century-old Christian summer camp for all girls where the floodwaters claimed the lives of at least 27 counselors and campers. Five campers and one counselor are still missing, officials reported Tuesday.
Scenes of devastation at Camp Mystic
Mud-splattered blankets and pillows littered a grassy hill that sloped toward the river outside the cabins at Camp Mystic where the girls had slept. Sticker-adorned luggage in shades of pink, purple, and light blue was also among the wreckage.
The camp’s 75-year-old director, a 19-year-old counselor who liked mentoring young girls, and a second-grader who loved pink sparkles and bows in her curly hair were among those who perished there.
The Guadalupe River rose 26 feet (8 meters) in less than an hour due to heavy rains that pushed water hurtling down hills into the river, causing flash floods to break out before daylight on Friday. Cabins, tents, and trailers along the river’s edge were overtaken by the wall of water, which dragged them into the water. There were survivors clinging to trees.
In order to reach higher ground, some campers had to swim out of the cabin windows, while others clung to a rope. In just a few minutes, flooding flooded highways, as demonstrated by time-lapse videos.
Experts argue that a warming atmosphere and oceans increase the likelihood of catastrophic storms, even though it is challenging to link a particular weather event to climate change.
Where were the warnings?
Concerns arose on what, if any, steps local authorities made to alert residents and campers spending the July Fourth weekend in the picturesque region that has long been referred to be “flash flood alley.”
According to Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha, issuing warnings is more complicated than simply pressing a button. According to public officials, answers regarding who did what and when will be provided later.
In the hours following the destruction, Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly, the county’s top elected official, stated that the county lacked a warning mechanism.
Families in the Hill Country have been aware of the risks for generations. near 1987, a flood flooded buses and vans and forced the evacuation of a youth camp near the town of Comfort. There were ten teen deaths.
The necessity of a warning system has been discussed by local authorities for many years. Eight years ago, Kerr County applied for a grant of over $1 million for such a system, but the Federal Emergency Management Agency denied the request. According to Kelly, locals objected to having to pay for it themselves.
Some campgrounds kept an eye on the weather and were mindful of the risks Friday. Prior to the floods, at least one relocated several hundred campers to higher land. However, a lot of people were taken by surprise or didn’t move.
Recovery and cleanup goes on
According to the sheriff, 30 children’s bodies have been found in Kerr County, which is the location of Camp Mystic and multiple other summer camps.
The destruction spanned several hundred miles in central Texas and extended just beyond Austin, the state capital.
According to local officials, 19 people died in Travis, Burnet, Kendall, Tom Green, and Williamson counties.
In the Hill Country town of Ingram, Aidan Duncan heard the muffled blare of a megaphone calling for inhabitants to leave Riverside RV Park and managed to flee just in time.
All of his possessions, including a mattress, sports cards, and the cage for his beloved parakeet, are now covered in mud in front of his house.
“It hurts what’s happening right now,” the 17-year-old stated. I cried so hard, really.
As part of the huge hunt for missing persons, search and rescue workers employed heavy equipment to move large rocks and untangle trees. One of the biggest search operations in Texas history was conducted with the assistance of hundreds of volunteers.
Charles Hanson, 91, a senior living center resident, was cleaning up wood and piling chunks of stone and concrete that had been left behind from a playground structure along the banks of the Guadelupe.
On behalf of his neighbors who are unable to go, he wanted to assist with cleanup. He stated, “We’ll do the best we can.”
From Toledo, Ohio, Seewer provided a report. This article was written by Associated Press writers John Hanna of Topeka, Kansas; Jim Vertuno of Austin, Texas; and Joshua A. Bickel of Kerrville, Texas.
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