Texas floods: 24 dead and up to 25 children missing after summer camp washed away
Children are among at least 24 killed in flash flooding in Texas, while dozens still remain missing after a girls’ summer camp was washed away, authorities have said.
As many as 25 children are still unaccounted for from Camp Mystic along the Guadalupe River, which rose 26 feet in 45 minutes overnight.
Authorities admitted on Friday night that they do not currently know how many people are missing.
Search teams used boats to conduct rescues on Friday as fast-moving water threatened riverfront homes and swept away summer camp grounds after 10 inches of heavy rain fell in just a few hours overnight in central Kerr County.
Officials said 237 people have been rescued so far as the state deployed five helicopters to help with the search.
Parents were desperately searching for children feared missing in the flash flooding, MailOnline reported.
Families are reunited in Ingram - AP
Asked about the floods on Friday night, Donald Trump said: “It’s terrible, the floods. It’s shocking.”
Greg Abbott, the governor of Texas, told reporters that “this is a time when we as a state, as a community, need God more than ever.”
Judge Rob Kelly, the chief elected official in the county, earlier confirmed people had died following the flooding.
He said at the time he had been advised not to cite specific numbers and said authorities are still working to identify those whose lives were lost.
Rescue teams search for survivors in Comfort - GETTY IMAGES
He said he was advised not to cite specific numbers and said authorities are still working to identify those whose lives were lost.
“Most of them, we don’t know who they are,” Judge Kelly said during a news conference.
“One of them was completely naked, he didn’t have any ID on him at all. We’re trying to get the identity of these folks, but we don’t have it yet.”
An overturned car near the Guadelupe River in Kerrville - AP
Officials conducted dozens of rescues, and the emergency response continued as an unknown number or people remained unaccounted for, Judge Kelly added.
A flood alert issued on Thursday afternoon estimated isolated amounts up to seven inches of rising water.
“Rest assured, no one knew this kind of flood was coming,” Judge Kellt said. “We have floods all the time. This is the most dangerous river valley in the United States.”
Mr Abbott said the state was providing resources to Hill Country communities dealing with the flooding, including in Kerrville, Ingram and Hunt.
“I urge Texans to heed guidance from state and local officials and monitor local forecasts to avoid driving into flooded areas,” Mr Abbott said in a statement.
The riverfront communities include several camps, wildlife habitats and camp grounds. Texas Game Wardens, part of the state parks and wildlife agency, said on Facebook that search and rescue teams are conducting rescues throughout the region and sending more boats to help.
“This is the kind of thing that will catch you unaware,” Bob Fogarty, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Austin/San Antonio office said.
“The water’s moving so fast, you’re not going to recognise how bad it is until it’s on top of you.”
Garrett Burleson shows the damage to his office in Ingram - AP
Meanwhile, strong thunderstorms were being blamed for at least three deaths in central New Jersey, including two men in Plainfield who died after a tree fell onto a vehicle they were travelling in during the height of a storm there, according to a city Facebook post.
The men were aged 79 and 25, officials said. They were not immediately publicly identified.
“Our hearts are heavy today,” Mayor Adrian Mapp said in a statement. “This tragedy is a sobering reminder of the power of nature and the fragility of life.”
The city cancelled its planned July 4 parade, concert and fireworks show.
Mr Mapp said the “devastating” storms had left “deep scars and widespread damage” in the community of more than 54,000 people and it was a time to “regroup and focus all of our energy on recovery”.
Continuing power outages and downed trees were reported on Friday throughout southern New England, where some communities received large amounts of hail.
There were reports of cars skidding off the road in northeastern Connecticut.
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