The number of fatalities from the recent flooding in central Texas has surpassed 100, including 27 girls from a riverside camp, according to officials.
Confirmed deaths in Kerr County reached 84, with 10 Camp Mystic campers and one counselor still unaccounted for, the sheriff’s department reported.
At least 17 other fatalities have been reported in nearby counties.
Emergency services continue to search for many missing individuals, facing the threat of additional heavy rains and thunderstorms.
“It’s going to be a difficult week,” Mayor Joe Herring Jr. remarked during a briefing.
The camp stated that it is in contact with local and state authorities.
The majority of victims were from Kerr County, where pre-dawn torrential rains transformed the Guadalupe River into a raging torrent within less than an hour on Friday.
The floodwaters swept through Camp Mystic, a nearly century-old Christian girls’ retreat located along the riverbanks.
“Our hearts are broken along with the families who are facing this unimaginable tragedy,” the camp expressed in a statement.
Officials confirmed that 10 girls and a camp counselor are still missing.
A US flag is seen near the site where the Guadalupe River in Texas overflowed, leading to the devastating flooding.
US Senator Ted Cruz informed reporters that the death toll continues to rise.
“Texas is in mourning now—the sorrow and shock from what has occurred these past few days have shattered the heart of our state,” Mr. Cruz stated.
“The loss of children, little girls, from Camp Mystic is every parent’s nightmare,” he added.
Watch: Ted Cruz discusses rising death toll
Richard “Dick” Eastland, 70, co-owner and director of Camp Mystic, died attempting to save the children at his camp during the flood, according to multiple media reports, including the Austin American-Statesman.
Mr. Eastland and his wife, Tweety Eastland, have run the camp since 1974, as noted on the camp’s website.
“If he wasn’t going to die of natural causes, this was the only way it would happen—saving the girls he adored,” Eastland’s grandson, George Eastland, shared on Instagram.
In Hill Country, the worst-hit area, forecasts predict an additional 50 to 100mm of rain, with some regions potentially receiving up to 254mm, said Allison Santorelli, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Maryland.
Ms. Santorelli warned that potential new floods could be particularly hazardous due to the already saturated soil and debris present in and around the river.
State emergency management officials had alerted residents ahead of the July Fourth holiday about the possibility of flash floods, based on National Weather Service projections.
Watch: Trump mentions plans to visit Texas
Mr. Trump stated that he plans to visit the affected area, likely on Friday.
He has previously proposed reducing the federal government’s role in disaster response, leaving states more responsible for handling emergencies.
Some experts raised concerns that federal workforce reductions under the Trump administration may have hindered accurate flood predictions and timely issuance of warnings prior to the storm.
The Trump administration has presided over thousands of job cuts at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the parent agency of the National Weather Service, leading to many weather offices being understaffed, according to former NOAA director Rick Spinrad.
Rescue workers are actively searching through debris for survivors.
When asked if federal cuts affected disaster response or created significant vacancies at the service, Mr. Trump pushed back.
“The water situation is, and that was really set up by Biden,” he remarked, referencing his Democratic predecessor, Joe Biden.
“I wouldn’t put all the blame on Biden either. I would say this is a rare, 100-year catastrophe,” he added.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer has urged a US government watchdog to investigate whether budget cuts contributed to delays or inaccuracies in forecasting the floods.
Time lapse demonstrates how water levels in the Llano River, Texas, rapidly rose.
