Rescuers scoured a devastated central Texas landscape of mangled trees, overturned cars and muck-filled debris Saturday in an increasingly bleak mission to locate survivors, including 27 girls who have not been seen since their camp was slammed with a wall of water in a historic flash flood.
The flooding in Kerr County killed at least 43 people, including 15 children, and at least eight people died in nearby counties.
Authorities still have not said how many people were missing beyond the children from Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp along a river in Kerr County where most of the dead were recovered.
The destructive, fast-moving waters rose 26 feet (8 meters) on the Guadalupe River in just 45 minutes before daybreak Friday, washing away homes and vehicles. The danger was not over as rains continued pounding communities outside San Antonio on Saturday and flash flood warnings and watches remained in effect.
Searchers used helicopters, boats and drones to look for victims and to rescue people stranded in trees and from camps isolated by washed-out roads.
Gov. Greg Abbott vowed that authorities will work around the clock and said new areas were being searched as the water receded. He declared Sunday a day of prayer for the state.
“I urge every Texan to join me in prayer this Sunday — for the lives lost, for those still missing, for the recovery of our communities, and for the safety of those on the front lines,” he said in a statement.
Authorities were coming under scrutiny over whether the camps and residents in places long vulnerable to flooding received proper warning and whether enough preparations were made.
The hills along the Guadalupe River in central Texas are dotted with century-old youth camps and campgrounds where generations of families have come to swim and enjoy the outdoors. The area is especially popular around the July Fourth holiday, making it more difficult to know how many are missing.
“We don’t even want to begin to estimate at this time,” Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice said earlier.
Raging storm hit camp in middle of the night
“The camp was completely destroyed,” said Elinor Lester, 13, one of hundreds of campers. “A helicopter landed and started taking people away. It was really scary.”
The raging storm, fueled by incredible amounts of moisture, woke up her cabin just after midnight Friday. When rescuers arrived, they tied a rope for the girls to hold as they walked across a bridge with water whipping around their legs, she said.
Frantic parents and families posted photos of missing loved ones and pleas for information.
Among those confirmed dead were an 8-year-old girl from Mountain Brook, Alabama, who was at Camp Mystic, and the director of another camp just up the road.
The flooding in the middle of the night caught many residents, campers and officials by surprise.
AccuWeather said the private forecasting company and the National Weather Service sent warnings about potential flash flooding hours beforehand.
“These warnings should have provided officials with ample time to evacuate camps such as Camp Mystic and get people to safety,” AccuWeather said in a statement. It called the Hill Country one of the most flash-flood-prone areas of the U.S. because of its terrain and many water crossings.
At the Mo-Ranch Camp in the community of Hunt, officials had been monitoring the weather and opted to move several hundred campers and attendees at a church youth conference to higher ground. At nearby Camps Rio Vista and Sierra Vista, organizers also had mentioned on social media that they were watching the weather the day before wrapping up their second summer session Thursday.
Authorities and elected officials have said they did not expect such an intense downpour, the equivalent of months’ worth of rain for the area.
U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, whose district includes the ravaged area, called it a once-in-a-century flood and acknowledged that there would be second-guessing and finger-pointing as people look for someone to blame.
Helicopters and drones used in frantic search
Search crews were facing harsh conditions while “looking in every possible location,” Rice said.
Officials said more than 850 people had been rescued in the last 36 hours and there were heroic efforts at the camps to save children.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem arrived and pledged that the Trump administration would use all available resources. Coast Guard helicopters and planes were assisting to ensure operations can continue even in darkness.
One reunification center at an elementary school was mostly quiet after taking in hundreds of evacuees the day before.
“We still have people coming here looking for their loved ones. We’ve had a little success, but not much,” said Bobby Templeton, superintendent of Ingram Independent School District.
People clung to trees and fled to attics
In Ingram, Erin Burgess woke to thunder and rain in the middle of the night. Just 20 minutes later, water was pouring into her home, she said. She described an agonizing hour clinging to a tree with her teen son.
“My son and I floated to a tree where we hung onto it, and my boyfriend and my dog floated away. He was lost for a while, but we found them,” she said.
Barry Adelman said water pushed everyone in his three-story house into the attic, including his 94-year-old grandmother and 9-year-old grandson.
“I was having to look at my grandson in the face and tell him everything was going to be OK, but inside I was scared to death,” he said.
Locals know the place as “ flash flood alley.”
“When it rains, water doesn’t soak into the soil,” said Austin Dickson, CEO of the Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country, which was collecting donations. “It rushes down the hill.”
‘Nobody saw this coming’
The weekend forecast had called for rain, with a flood watch upgraded to a warning overnight Friday for at least 30,000 people.
“We know we get rains. We know the river rises. But nobody saw this coming,” said Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly, the county’s chief elected official.
The county had considered a flood warning system on the river similar to a tornado warning siren about six or seven years ago, but Kelly said the idea never got off the ground and the cost would have been an issue.
Kelly said he was heartbroken seeing body bags at the funeral home and the devastation on the ground during a helicopter tour.
“The rescue has gone as well as can be expected. It’s getting time now for the recovery,” he said. “And that’s going to be a long, toilsome task for us.”