Authorities have still not said exactly how many people are believed to be missing beyond the 27 girls from Camp Mystic.
Just two days after catastrophic flash floods in central Texas washed away homes and vehicles and left at least 51 people dead, rescuers on July 6 were searching through a devastating landscape of overturned cars and mud-filled debris to search for potential survivors, including 27 girls who went missing when their camp was hit with a wall of water.
At least 43 people, including 15 children, perished from flooding in Kerr County, while another eight died in nearby counties.
Beyond the 27 girls declared missing from Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp along a river in Kerr County, where most of the dead were found, authorities have not yet said exactly how many are missing from the flash floods.
Roughly 45 minutes before daybreak on Friday, Texas’s Guadalupe River rose 26 feet as destructive and fast-moving flash flood waters washed out homes and vehicles. The chaos continued on Saturday as torrential downpours pounded communities outside San Antonio while flash flood warnings and watches remained in effect.
Rescuers looked for victims stranded in trees and in camps cut off by destroyed roads using drones, boats, and helicopters.
Gov. Greg Abbott declared Sunday a day of prayer for Texas and promised that authorities would continue working around the clock as additional areas could be searched once the waters receded.
“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,” Abbott said in a statement.
Local authorities are also facing scrutiny over whether they heeded the warnings from weather forecasters and did enough to prepare or evacuate those who were in camps and other places vulnerable to the holiday weekend’s flash floods.
The private weather forecasting company AccuWeather said it and the National Weather Service had sent warnings about the dangers from the flash floods hours ahead of time.
By Jacob Burg
