(Kerrville) With new rains to come, the risk of potentially fatal floods remained high in central Texas on Monday, while the teams continued to seek missing from the deluge last weekend, which left at least 82 dead, including children who participated in summer camps.
The authorities warned that the results of the victims were undoubtedly going to increase.
The residents of the county of Kerr began to clear the mud and to recover what they could from their demolished properties since the rapid rise in waters on Friday evening.
Meanwhile, the rescuers, sailing through rugged land and infested with snakes, continued their research to find the missing, including ten young girls and an instructor of the Mystic camp, a summer camp reserved for girls who suffered significant damage.
Photo Ronaldo Schemidt, agency France-Presse
A volunteer is looking for missing people in Hunt, Texas, July 6, 2025.
Governor Greg Abbott announced that 41 people were missing in the state and that others could miss the call.
In the Hill Country region, which houses several summer camps, the rescuers found the bodies of 68 people, including 28 children, said Kerr County sheriff, Larry Leitha.
Read “the peril behind the charms of the Hill Country”
Ten other dead have been reported in the counties of Travis, Burnet, Kendall, Tom Green and Williamson, according to local authorities.
The governor warned that new torrential rains continue until Tuesday could cause more dangerous floods, especially in the already saturated areas.
Families were allowed to visit the camp on Sunday morning. A little girl came out of a building by wearing a large bell. A man, whose daughter had been rescued from a hut located at the culmination of the camp, walked along the bank by scrutinizing between the trees and under the rocks.
A family left with a blue locker. A teenager, her face in tears, slowly walked away by car and contemplated the rubble through the open window.
Research in the disaster area
Photo Marco Bello, Reuters
People are looking at the Guadalupe river, after sudden floods in Kerrville, Texas, July 6, 2025.
Nearby teams, using heavy machines, have removed tree trunks and tangled branches from the river. Every hour that passed, the prospects of finding other survivors became darker.
Volunteers and disappeared families went there and carried out research, despite requests not to do so.
The authorities have faced several questions, whether enough alerts had been disseminated in an area that has long been vulnerable to floods and if more preparations could have been made.
President Donald Trump signed a major disaster statement for Kerr on Sunday and said he would probably go there on Friday: “I would have done it today, but we would simply be on their way. »»
“It’s horrible what happened, absolutely horrible,” he said.
Prayers in Texas and Vatican
Governor Abbott promised that the authorities would work 24 hours a day and said that new areas were sought as the waters retired. He declared Sunday day prayer for the State.
In Rome, Pope Leo XIV offered special prayers for people affected by the disaster.
The first American pope delivered a blessing in English at the end of his Sunday noon speech: “I want to express my sincere condolences to all the families who have lost dear beings, in particular their daughters who were in summer camps, during the disaster caused by the flood of the Guadalupe river, in Texas, in the United States. We pray for them. »»
Terrifying stories
Survivors have told trying memories of the drama. Some were swept away by the waters and had to grab the trees. They saw the raging waters swallow trees and cars.
Others have taken refuge in attics, praying so that the water does not reach them.
At the Mystic camp, young girls clung to a rope stretched by the rescuers while they crossed a bridge, the water whisking their legs.
Among the confirmed deaths were an eight -year -old girl from Mountain Brook, Alabama, who was at the Mystic Camp, and the director of another camp below on the road.
Two school sisters from Dallas were missing after their chalet was swept away. Their parents stayed in another chalet and were safe, but their grandparents were missing.
Alerts broadcast before the disaster
On Thursday, the National Meteorological Service reported a risk of flooding, then issued a series of sudden flood alerts in the early hours of Friday, before triggering the state of emergency for sudden flood – a rare alert signaling an imminent danger.
The authorities and elected officials said they did not expect such intense rains, equivalent to rainy months in the region.
Kerrville Municipal Director Dalton Rice said that the authorities undertook to carry out a complete examination of emergency measures.
Asked about his intention to gradually delete the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Mr. Trump replied that “we will be able to talk about it later, but that for the moment, we are busy working”. He said he wanted to reshape, even completely delete, FEMA and strongly criticized his effectiveness.
He was also asked if he planned to re -hire federal meteorologists licensed this year as part of the massive government budget cuts.
“I don’t think. It happened in a few seconds. No one expected. No one saw it. Very talented people were there, and they did not see it, “said the president.
