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The death toll from the flash flooding in central Texas has risen to 82 after searchers found more bodies<\/strong>, the Associated Press is reporting.<\/p>\n Authorities say many more remain missing, including 10 girls from the Camp Mystic summer camp.<\/p>\n Searchers have now found 68 bodies in Kerr county, where a wall of water came down the Guadalupe River.<\/p>\n Sheriff Larry Leitha<\/strong> said the dead included 28 children.<\/p>\n Texas governor Greg Abbott<\/strong> warned on Sunday that additional rounds of heavy rains lasting into Tuesday could produce more life-threatening flooding.<\/p>\n Some families were allowed to look around the hardest hit camp in the Hill Country on Sunday while nearby crews continued their search.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Updated at\u00a021.59 EDT<\/p>\n <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Key events<\/p>\n <\/span>Show key events only<\/p>\n Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n Flooding has caused an average of more than 125 deaths a year in the US over the past few decades<\/strong>, according to the National Weather Service, and flash floods are the nation\u2019s top storm-related killer.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s a look at some of the other most deadly floods nationwide over the past 25 years, care of the Associated Press.<\/p>\n Hurricane Helene, 2024<\/strong>: The storm struck Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas, Tennessee and Virginia in September 2024 and caused about 250 deaths, the National Weather Service said. Many of those who died in Helene fell victim to massive inland flooding, rather than high winds.<\/p>\n <\/span>Aerial view of flood damage from Hurricane Helene along the Swannanoa River in Asheville, North Carolina, in October 2024.<\/span> Photograph: Mario Tama\/Getty Images<\/p>\n Kentucky, 2022: <\/strong>Raging floodwaters in eastern Kentucky in late July led to 45 deaths, senior meteorologist Tyler Roys said on Saturday. The floods destroyed homes and businesses and caused significant damage to schools, roads, bridges and water systems. Thousands of families lost all of their possessions.<\/p>\n Tennessee, 2021: <\/strong>Twenty people were killed when creeks near the small Middle Tennessee town of Waverly overflowed after more than 17 inches (43cm) of rain fell in less than 24 hours. Homes were washed off their foundations, cars wrecked and businesses demolished. The dead included twin babies who were swept from their father\u2019s arms.<\/p>\n Hurricane Harvey, 2017: <\/strong>The storm barrelled into Texas in as a category 4 storm and wound up killing at least 68 people, according to the National Hurricane Center. All but three of the Harvey deaths were directly attributed to freshwater flooding, which damaged more than 300,000 structures and caused an estimated $125bn in damage.<\/p>\n West Virginia, 2016: <\/strong>A rainstorm that initially seemed not to be major turned into a catastrophe for the state, trapping dozens of people during the night and eventually leaving 23 people dead around West Virginia.<\/p>\n Continued next post<\/em><\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Here are some of the latest images coming in from central Texas over the newswires amid the flood devastation.<\/p>\n <\/span>A man Sergio Sanchez walks through debris while assisting with search and rescue efforts on the banks of the Guadalupe River in Center Point, Texas.<\/span> Photograph: Brandon Bell\/Getty Images<\/span>Rescue workers search for missing people near Camp Mystic along the Guadalupe River. <\/span> Photograph: Julio Cortez\/AP<\/span>Law enforcement searches the river near Camp Mystic.<\/span> Photograph: Dustin Safranek\/EPA<\/span>People look at the Guadalupe River in Kerrville following flash flooding as they gather after receiving a SMS alerting on potential floods in the area.<\/span> Photograph: Marco Bello\/Reuters<\/span>A person removes bedding from sleeping quarters at Camp Mystic.<\/span> Photograph: Julio Cortez\/AP<\/span>A volunteer displays a sign for free food for people in need of relief in Center Point, Texas.<\/span> Photograph: Brandon Bell\/Getty ImagesShare<\/p>\n The longtime owner and director of Camp Mystic, Dick Eastland<\/strong>, reportedly died while trying to save campers, as posted earlier.<\/p>\n His grandson George Eastland<\/strong> has paid an emotional tribute on Instagram saying his grandfather\u2019s impact will continue on.<\/p>\n The post said:<\/p>\n If he wasn\u2019t going to die of natural causes, this was the only other way, saving the girls that he so loved and cared for. That\u2019s the man my grandfather was. A husband, father, grandfather, and mentor to thousands of young women, he no longer walks this earth, but his impact will never leave the lives he touched.<\/p>\n The post also said he never once heard Eastland raise his voice and \u201cnever saw an ounce of hate or judgement leave your body\u201d.<\/p>\n Although I am devastated, I can\u2019t say I\u2019m surprised that you sacrificed your life with the hopes of someone else\u2019s being saved.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Search teams are using helicopters, boats and drones to look for victims in the flash floods that have torn across central Texas since the start of the Fourth of July weekend.<\/strong><\/p>\n At the centre of the disaster is the scenic Texas Hill Country, where volunteers and some families of the missing have searched the riverbanks despite being asked not to do so. Authorities in surrounding areas closer to Austin, the state capital, have also recovered victims from flood waters.<\/p>\n The Associated Press has this rundown of the known toll of dead and missing.<\/p>\n Flash floods striking with the force to rip away concrete slabs and giant trees tore across Guadalupe River banks dotted with children\u2019s camps and campgrounds.<\/p>\n Kerr county authorities had confirmed at least 68 deaths as of Sunday and said they had no way to total the number of missing across the county, the hardest-hit by the floods.<\/p>\n Among Kerr county\u2019s confirmed dead are at least 28 children. The missing campers were from Camp Mystic, the riverside Christian camp for girls in the small town of Hunt.<\/p>\n <\/span>First responders attend to a vehicle pulled from the water in the aftermath of flooding in Kerrville, Texas.<\/span> Photograph: Sergio Flores\/Reuters<\/p>\n Six people in Travis county died in the flooding, county spokesman Hector Nieto<\/strong> said on Sunday evening. The flash floods along creeks carried away homes, trailers, cars and people in the north-west part of the county.<\/p>\n Travis county judge Andy Brown<\/strong>, the county\u2019s top executive, said earlier on Sunday that about 50 people have been rescued by helicopter, in boats and on foot. It had also sent resources to Kerr county, knowing that it was harder hit. While a flood watch remains in effect, officials say they have neutralised the initial emergency.<\/p>\n \u201cNow we\u2019re going to be moving into recovery,\u201d said Eric Carter<\/strong>, chief emergency management eoordinator for Travis county.<\/p>\n Authorities in the largely rural county, which borders Travis county, reported three dead and five people missing in flood waters that surged out of Cow Creek and other waterways.<\/p>\n <\/span>A table of refreshments set up in a parking lot during a drive-up prayer service in Kerrville on Sunday.<\/span> Photograph: Sergio Flores\/Reuters<\/p>\n Two deaths were reported in both Kendall and Williamson counties, and there was one in Tom Green county.<\/p>\n In Williamson county, in the north suburbs of Austin, the US military at nearby Fort Hood helped evacuate 16 people people from a home for disabled children, county judge Steve Snell<\/strong> said.<\/p>\n The victim in Tom Green county was a woman whose body was found outside her submerged car in the city of San Angelo.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Updated at\u00a022.18 EDT<\/p>\n The death toll from the flash flooding in central Texas has risen to 82 after searchers found more bodies<\/strong>, the Associated Press is reporting.<\/p>\n Authorities say many more remain missing, including 10 girls from the Camp Mystic summer camp.<\/p>\n Searchers have now found 68 bodies in Kerr county, where a wall of water came down the Guadalupe River.<\/p>\n Sheriff Larry Leitha<\/strong> said the dead included 28 children.<\/p>\n Texas governor Greg Abbott<\/strong> warned on Sunday that additional rounds of heavy rains lasting into Tuesday could produce more life-threatening flooding.<\/p>\n Some families were allowed to look around the hardest hit camp in the Hill Country on Sunday while nearby crews continued their search.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Updated at\u00a021.59 EDT<\/p>\n The Federal Emergency Management Agency was activated on Sunday and is deploying resources to Texas first responders after Donald Trump issued a major disaster declaration<\/strong>, the homeland security department has said, and US coast guard helicopters and planes were aiding search and rescue efforts.<\/p>\n But as the Associated Press reports, Trump has previously outlined plans to cut back the federal government\u2019s role in responding to natural disasters, leaving states to bear more of the burden themselves.<\/p>\n Some experts questioned whether the Trump administration\u2019s cuts to the federal workforce by \u2013 including to the agency that oversees the National Weather Service \u2013 led to a failure by officials to accurately predict the severity of the floods and issue appropriate warnings ahead of the storm.<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s administration has overseen thousands of job cuts from the National Weather Service\u2019s parent agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa), leaving many weather offices understaffed, according to former Noaa director Rick Spinrad<\/strong>.<\/p>\n He said he did not know if those staff cuts factored into the lack of advance warning for the extreme Texas flooding but that they would inevitably degrade the agency\u2019s ability to deliver accurate and timely forecasts.<\/p>\n Trump, as reported earlier, pushed back when asked on Sunday if federal government cuts hobbled the disaster response or left key job vacancies at the weather service, saying \u201cthat was really the Biden<\/strong> set-up\u201d.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Updated at\u00a021.40 EDT<\/p>\n At the Vatican in Rome, the first pontiff from the US has said he is praying for those bereaved after the Texas floods<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Pope Leo XIV told crowds after his Sunday lunchtime blessing:<\/p>\n I would like to express sincere condolences to all the families who have lost loved ones, in particular their daughters who were at summer camp, in the disaster caused by the flooding of the Guadalupe River in Texas in the United States. We pray for them.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Updated at\u00a021.14 EDT<\/p>\n Families have sifted through waterlogged debris and stepped inside empty cabins at Camp Mystic, the summer camp devastated by the flash floods that <\/strong>have killed at least 79 people.<\/strong><\/p>\n Rescuers have been navigating challenging terrain including snakes in their continued search for the missing, including 10 girls and a counsellor from the all-girl Christian summer camp.<\/p>\n <\/span>The Guadalupe River surrounding Camp Mystic in Hunt, Texas.<\/span> Photograph: Dustin Safranek\/EPA<\/p>\n Families were allowed to look around Camp Mystic beginning on Sunday morning after Kerr county authorities said the risk of further flooding had passed, the Associated Press reports, describing the scene:<\/p>\n One girl walked out of a building carrying a large bell. A man, who said his daughter was rescued from a cabin on the highest point in the camp, walked a riverbank, looking in clumps of trees and under big rocks.<\/p>\n A woman and a teenage girl, both wearing rubber waders, briefly went inside one of the cabins, which stood next to a pile of soaked mattresses, a storage trunk and clothes. At one point, the pair doubled over, sobbing before they embraced.<\/p>\n One family left with a blue footlocker. A teenage girl had tears running down her face looking out the open window, gazing at the wreckage as they slowly drove away.<\/p>\n While the families saw the devastation for the first time, nearby crews operating heavy equipment pulled tree trunks and tangled branches from the water as they searched the river.<\/p>\n With each passing hour, the outlook of finding more survivors became even more bleak.<\/p>\n <\/span>People view damage to cabins at Camp Mystic.<\/span> Photograph: Dustin Safranek\/EPAShare<\/p>\n Updated at\u00a021.38 EDT<\/p>\n People from elsewhere in Texas have converged on Kerr County to help search for the missing.<\/strong><\/p>\n One of the searches focused on four young women who were staying in a house that was washed away by the Guadalupe River. Adam Durda<\/strong> and his wife Amber<\/strong>, both 45, drove three hours to help, Agence France-Presse reports.<\/p>\n \u201cThere was a group of 20-year-olds that were in a house that had gotten washed away,\u201d Durda said.<\/p>\n That\u2019s who the family requested help for, but of course, we\u2019re looking for anybody.<\/p>\n <\/span>Volunteers searching for flood victims in Kerr county, Texas, on Sunday.<\/span> Photograph: Sergio Flores\/Reuters<\/p>\n Justin Morales<\/strong>, 36, was part of a search team that found three bodies, including that of a Camp Mystic girl caught up in a tree.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re happy to give a family closure and hopefully we can keep looking and find some of the … you know, whoever,\u201d he told AFP.<\/p>\n Help give some of those families closure. That\u2019s why we\u2019re out here.<\/p>\n Texans also started flying personal drones to help look but local officials urged them to stop, citing a danger for rescue aircraft.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Updated at\u00a020.02 EDT<\/p>\n An official has said he was receiving unconfirmed reports of \u201can additional wall of water\u201d flowing down some of the creeks in the Guadalupe Rivershed<\/strong>, as rain continued to fall on soil in the region already saturated from Friday\u2019s rains.<\/p>\n Nim Kidd<\/strong>, chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management, told a press conference on Sunday afternoon that aircraft were sent to scout for additional flood waters, while search-and-rescue personnel who might be in harm\u2019s way were alerted to pull back from the river in the meantime.<\/p>\n Reuters reports that Kidd said among those killed were three people in Burnet county, one in Tom Green county, five in Travis county and one in Williamson county.<\/p>\n \u201cYou will see the death toll rise today and tomorrow,\u201d said Freeman Martin<\/strong>, director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, also speaking on Sunday.<\/p>\n <\/span>Search teams look through vegetation and debris along the Guadalupe River in Hunt, Texas, on Sunday.<\/span> Photograph: Dustin Safranek\/EPA<\/p>\n Officials said on Saturday that more than 850 people had been rescued, including some clinging to trees, after a sudden storm dumped up to 15 inches (38cm) of rain across the region, about 85 miles (140km) north-west of San Antonio.<\/p>\n Larry Leitha<\/strong>, the Kerr county sheriff in Texas Hill Country, told reporters:<\/p>\n Everyone in the community is hurting.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Updated at\u00a019.42 EDT<\/p>\n Expanding on the last post, Donald Trump was asked in relation to the Texas disaster whether he was still planning to phase out the Federal Emergency Management Agency and said:<\/strong><\/p>\n Fema is something we can talk about later. But right now they\u2019re busy working so we\u2019ll leave it at that.<\/strong><\/p>\n Speaking to reporters at a New Jersey airport, the president was also asked if he was investigating whether some of the cuts to the federal government left key vacancies at the National Weather Service or in emergency coordination. He responded:<\/p>\n They didn\u2019t. I\u2019ll tell you, if you look at that, what a situation that all is \u2013 that was really the Biden set-up, that was not our set-up. But I wouldn\u2019t blame Biden for it either. I would just say this is a 100-year catastrophe and it\u2019s just so horrible to watch.<\/p>\n Trump said Kristi Noem<\/strong>, the homeland security secretary, would continue to be in Texas and \u201cwe\u2019re working very close\u201d with Texas representatives.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Updated at\u00a021.37 EDT<\/p>\nTexas Hill Country<\/h2>\n
Travis county<\/h2>\n
Burnet county<\/h2>\n
Other victims<\/h2>\n
Floods toll rises to 82<\/h2>\n
Families permitted to look through Camp Mystic<\/h2>\n
Trump rejects federal cuts affected disaster response<\/h2>\n