Texas Floods Kill 59 Including 21 Children
Deadly Floods in Texas: 59 People Dead, Including 21 Children
Larry Leitha, the Sheriff of Kerr County in Texas, said that 59 people have died in the recent floods in the Texas Hill Country. Among the dead are 21 children.
Leitha also said that 11 girls and one camp counselor are still missing. They were staying at a summer camp near the Guadalupe River, which flooded badly after very heavy rain fell on Friday, which was Independence Day in the U.S.
In other nearby places:
Four people died in Travis County, and 13 people are still missing.
One person died in Kendall County.
Two people died in Burnet County.
In San Angelo, a woman was found dead in her car, which had been underwater.
In Kerr County, 18 adults and 4 children have not yet been identified, but it’s unclear if they are included in the total number of 59 deaths.
Over 850 People Rescued
More than 850 people have been saved from the flood, some of them clinging to trees. The storm brought up to 15 inches (38 cm) of rain and caused flash floods in areas about 85 miles (140 km) from San Antonio.
Sheriff Leitha said, “Everyone in the community is hurting.”
Flood warnings were still active on Saturday, which made rescue work harder.
Emergency Response and Criticism
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) began helping on Sunday, after President Donald Trump declared it a major disaster. The U.S. Coast Guard also sent helicopters and planes to help rescue people.
However, some people questioned if the Trump administration’s cuts to the federal weather services affected how well the flood was predicted. The National Weather Service had only issued a “moderate” warning, not expecting the extreme rain.
Experts say that cuts in staff at weather agencies may have made it harder to give proper warnings in time. A former NOAA director said that fewer staff can hurt the agency’s ability to give good forecasts.
Missing Girls from Camp Mystic
The 11 missing girls and their counselor were from Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp with about 700 girls staying there.
One counselor, Katharine Somerville, said her 13-year-old campers were very scared. Their cabins were damaged and lost electricity. She said even cabins on high ground were flooded. The girls were safely evacuated using military trucks.
The flood happened fast early on Friday. Rain caused the river to rise quickly to 29 feet (9 meters) high. On Saturday, the camp was filled with mud and broken furniture. One building had even lost a wall.
Somerville said the camp director, Richard “Dick” Eastland, died trying to save some girls. She praised him for his bravery.
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