At least 161 people remain missing in Kerr County, Texas, four days after catastrophic flash floods swept through parts of the state, Governor Greg Abbott said on Tuesday, as search teams continue to battle against fading hopes of finding survivors.
The missing include five campers and a counsellor from Camp Mystic, a Christian all-girls summer retreat located along the Guadalupe River, one of the hardest-hit areas.
The floods have so far claimed at least 109 lives across Texas 94 of them in Kerrville alone.
“This is one of the worst disasters we’ve ever faced,” Abbott said during a news conference.
“Emergency crews will not stop until every missing person is accounted for.”
The flooding, which struck just before dawn on the Fourth of July holiday, was triggered by torrential rainfall that turned rivers into deadly torrents. Survivors and rescuers have described scenes of devastation, with entire mobile homes and communities reduced to wreckage.
Search efforts remain intense, with the Texas National Guard deploying 13 Black Hawk helicopters including four from Arkansas as well as Chinooks and reaper drones to locate the missing. More than 250 personnel, including agents from the FBI, Border Patrol, and local emergency units, are involved in the operation in Kerrville alone.
“This is a nightmare,” said Tim, a volunteer rescuer. “I’ve worked hurricanes and East Texas floods, but nothing like this.”
Another volunteer, Justin, compared the effort to “trying to find a single hay in a haystack,” adding that limited cadaver dogs and inaccessible terrain have slowed progress.
Questions are now being raised over the adequacy of flood warnings issued before the disaster. While officials had reportedly issued storm alerts, the governor admitted they underestimated the storm’s magnitude.
“No one knew it would lead to a 30-foot high tsunami wall of water,” Abbott said. When asked who bears responsibility, he dismissed the question, “That’s the word choice of losers.”
Most of the fatalities occurred after the Guadalupe River breached its banks, rapidly inundating homes and holiday cabins. Camp Mystic confirmed that at least 27 of its girls and staff are among the dead.
One survivor, Justin Brown, lost everything. A resident of Blue Oak RV Park, he had just minutes to evacuate with his two daughters and their dog before the flood swept his mobile home away. “Now there’s just a puddle where my home used to be,” he said.
President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump are scheduled to visit the flood-ravaged area on Friday.
Meanwhile, in New Mexico, a separate flash flood emergency has been declared. Residents in the town of Ruidoso were ordered to stay on alert after a 15-foot flood wave surged through the Rio Ruidoso on Tuesday evening. Officials there have also conducted boat rescues and reported missing persons.
Back in Texas, the list of the missing is expected to grow, and families are being urged to report loved ones who remain unaccounted for.
Erizia Rubyjeana
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