At least 82 dead in Texas, dozens still missing after catastrophic flooding

Flash floods in Texas killed at least 82 and left dozens unaccounted for, including 10 girls and one counselor missing from a summer camp after the Guadalupe River surged early Friday following torrential rain.

Rescue crews continued searching along the swollen Guadalupe River in Central Texas after catastrophic flooding left at least 82 people dead, officials in Texas said late Sunday afternoon.

The toll includes dozens of children in Kerr County, where 10 girls and one counselor are still missing from Camp Mystic, Sheriff Larry Leitha said. Searchers have found the bodies of 68 people, including 28 children, in Kerr County, he added.

Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas said Sunday that in all, some 41 people are still missing from the flooding, adding that search and rescue efforts were still underway.

What led to the deadly flooding?

There were flash flood warnings issued in central Texas hours in advance of the deadly flooding early Friday morning.

"AccuWeather issued the first flash flood warnings in that area around 12:44 a.m. Central time," AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jon Porter said Sunday morning. "The National Weather Service then issued a flash flood warning in that area at 1:14 a.m. CT."

The Friday warnings said up to 7 inches of isolated rainfall could fall early Friday across South Central Texas, including Kerr County. With officials reporting a months’ worth of rain fell in less than two hours, the Guadalupe River rose an astonishing 22 feet in just two hours at a gauge near Hunt, where the river forks, Bob Fogarty, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Austin/San Antonio told The Texas Tribune. The river reached 29.5 feet before the gauge was overtaken by floodwaters and stopped transmitting, Fogarty added.

"This is perhaps the most flash-flood vulnerable part of the country, Porter said on the AccuWeather Network. "Because of the fact that you have complex terrain, lots of hills and valleys that water can pour into and often times access to Gulf moisture and moisture from the Eastern Pacific...And the Guadalupe River went from probably just a typical lazy river, a little bit of slow motion, to a wall of water with height rises of 30 feet of fast-moving water in less than an hour and there's nothing worse than fast-moving water, it will destroy everything in its path."

Before the sun rose on Friday, floodwaters sent that deadly wave of water down the river overwhelming homes, camps and roads across Kerr County.

More than 1,000 local, state and federal responders are working to search through challenging, flood-ravaged terrain for the missing, Texas Rep. Chip Roy said Saturday.

“We remain in a search-and-rescue posture right now,” Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said. “They will be nonstop, seeking to find everybody who is unaccounted for.”

Abbott said rescuers are using drones and helicopters to scour flooded riverbanks littered with huge piles of debris. The governor issued a disaster declaration for 15 counties and said operations would continue around the clock.

Among the missing are 10 girls and one counselor from Camp Mystic, a summer camp near the river. The campers were staying in low-lying areas when the flooding hit. Officials said children at other area summer camps were accounted for.

Families returned to Camp Mystic on Sunday, stepping through debris strewn around empty cabins at the all-girls summer camp devastated by the flash floods that tore homes from their foundations.

"Today I visited Camp Mystic. It, and the river running beside it, were horrendously ravaged in ways unlike I’ve seen in any natural disaster," Gov. Abbott posted on X on Saturday evening. "The height the rushing water reached to the top of cabins was shocking. We won’t stop until we find every girl who was in those cabins."

“The camp was completely destroyed,” 13-year-old camper Elinor Lester told The Associated Press. “A helicopter landed and started taking people away. It was really scary.”

She said rescuers tied a rope for the girls to hold as they walked across a bridge with water rushing all around their legs.

“Technology is actually not allowed there,” Tracy Walder, a NewsNation national security contributor whose daughter is friends with some of the missing campers, told the outlet. “That’s why communication and information is kind of a bit difficult to come by.”

The families of at least four young campers have confirmed their daughters died in the catastrophic Texas flooding, according to CNN. Among them is 9-year-old Janie Hunt, whose mother said in a message Saturday morning that her daughter had died.

The families of Sarah Marsh, Lila Bonner and Renee Smajstrla also confirmed their deaths to CNN. U.S. Sen. Katie Britt of Alabama posted on Facebook that she and her husband were “heartbroken over the loss of Sarah Marsh” and are keeping her family “in our thoughts and prayers during this unimaginable time.”

Bonner’s family said the 9-year-old had died, releasing a statement through CNN: “In the midst of our unimaginable grief, we ask for privacy and are unable to confirm any details at this time. We ache with all who loved her and are praying endlessly for others to be spared from this tragic loss.”

Smajstrla’s uncle described her death as “truly devastating.”

Other families are still waiting for answers. Natalie Landry told CNN her 9-year-old daughter Lainey is still missing. Ellen Toranzo described her missing daughter Greta, 10, as “very smart, sweet and good at tennis.” The brother of missing camper Blakely McCrory said their family is “hoping she comes back home safe” after recently losing their father in March.

The flooding peaked Friday morning when the Guadalupe River reached 29 feet in western Kerr County, the second-highest level on record. The National Weather Service classified the event as life-threatening and urged people to stay away from flood-prone areas.

Mandatory evacuations were issued Friday for riverside areas in Kerrville and Comfort, where first responders used boats and helicopters to reach trapped residents.

The Trump administration is working with officials in Texas to address the devastating flooding, President Donald Trump wrote on social media Saturday.

The flooding surpassed levels seen during a deadly 1987 event that killed 10 teenagers near Comfort. As rescue crews searched for the missing Friday night, many officials and residents were reminded of the region’s long history of flash flood tragedies.

Flash floods occur when water rises rapidly within six hours of intense rainfall. The National Weather Service warns that even small amounts of water can be deadly: just 6 inches can make a car difficult to control, and 18 inches can sweep it away.

Texas officials said the National Guard and Department of Public Safety have been deployed to aid in rescue and recovery efforts as the region braces for more rain in the days ahead.

Six million people there remain under flood watches until Sunday afternoon or evening. Flash flooding will continue to be a prominent risk, especially in places north and west of Austin, Texas, AccuWeather meteorologists say. Rain should lessen on Sunday though it will still be in the greater region, largely north or east of the hardest-hit flood areas.

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