Flash flooding in Texas has resulted in 24 confirmed deaths and left numerous people missing, including more than 20 girls from a summer camp, after severe storms struck the region on Friday.
The flooding occurred when the Guadalupe River overflowed its banks before dawn on Friday, causing destructive flash floods that demolished homes and carried away vehicles throughout the Texas Hill Country. The disaster prompted hundreds of rescue operations in Kerr County, with at least 167 people rescued by helicopter after nearly 12 inches of rain fell in the area.
Sheriff Larry Leitha reported that between 23 and 25 missing individuals were girls attending Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp located along the river. The exact total number of missing persons remains unknown. Families and parents have turned to social media, posting urgent requests for information about their loved ones caught in the flood zone.
Elinor Lester, a 13-year-old camper at Camp Mystic, described the scene: “The camp was completely destroyed. A helicopter landed and started taking people away. It was really scary.” She explained that a severe storm awakened her cabin around 1:30 AM on Friday. When rescue teams arrived, they secured a rope for the girls to hold while they crossed a bridge with floodwaters surging around their knees.
The timing of the flooding, occurring during the night on the July 4th holiday, caught residents, campers, and officials unprepared. Officials have defended their weather preparations and emergency response but acknowledged they had not anticipated such an extreme rainfall event, which delivered months’ worth of precipitation to the area in a short period.
Nim Kidd, chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management, noted that National Weather Service forecasts had predicted only three to six inches of rain for the week. “It did not predict the amount of rain that we saw,” he stated.
During a Friday evening news conference, Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha confirmed 24 fatalities. Authorities reported that 237 people had been successfully rescued from the flood zone. Families affected by the disaster gathered at a reunification center as search and rescue operations continued.
First responders have been scanning the banks of the Guadalupe River in Ingram, Texas, searching for individuals who may have been swept away by the rushing floodwaters.
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