Staff reports, San Antonio Express-News
| Hearst – Austin Transition
Twenty-four people have died, and more than 20 children are missing in flooding that has devastated Kerr County along the Guadalupe River. Among those missing are girls who were attending Camp Mystic in the Hill Country. Rescue crews have been deployed to the area. Here’s the latest:
Kerrville Tivy boys soccer coach Reece Zunker, his wife Paula and their two children are among dozens of people missing in Friday’s deadly Hill Country floods.
“The TFND Community would like to extend an ‘all call’ to pray for those affected by the historic flooding today and a special petition for the Zunker family who have yet to be brought to safety,” the school said in a statement posted to the Kerrville Tivy football X account on Friday afternoon.
Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said late Friday that 24 fatalities have been confirmed in the fatal floods along the Guadalupe River. Leitha said the identities of the dead would not be released Friday night as next-of-kin is being notified.
“We will be working around the clock 24/7 till every person is found,” he said.
State officials said that 237 people were rescued from the flooding.
“Please pray for our community,” Kerrville Mayor Joe Herring Jr. said. “This is a hard day, and there will be hard days to come.”
At least five victims of Friday’s Hill Country floods were from the Houston area, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said.
“Today, my heart aches for our neighbors in Kerr County,” Hidalgo said on X. “The violent surge of flood waters is something we are all too familiar with. I pray that emergency personnel are able to promptly find the young girls missing from Camp Mystic. Please continue to pray for the missing.
“Harris County mourns the victims — 5 of whom have been confirmed from Houston/Harris County,” Hidalgo wrote. “All of Texas is impacted by this tragic event.”
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said Friday during a press conference that about 23 girls were still missing after major flooding at a private Christian summer camp in Hunt. These are some of their names.
Two weeks ago, Hair in Ingram held its grand opening. Now, the purple and pink balloons that once celebrated the salon’s debut are crumpled in a layer of muddy water covering the floor.
Hair stylist Anyssa Chaisson, 25, stood outside the battered salon Friday assessing the damage. She just resumed working a month ago after giving birth to her 9-month-old daughter, who sat on her hip.
“What do I do now? Because my life was hair,” Chaisson said. “All of my stuff is in there. My scissors, my shears, brand new flippers, blow dryer, color — everything that was almost a grand to buy is just gone.”
When Chaisson heard about flooding early Friday morning, she texted the salon owner and asked if the building was O.K.
“Nope,” the owner responded.
Chaisson hoped she could clean up some debris in time to open the salon again on Saturday.
“I didn’t expect it all to be gone,” she said.
At Ohana’s Shaved Ice, Jose Garcia on Friday retrieved a soggy stack of bills from the wreckage inside his business. He opened it in 2019 with his brother in a strip mall in Ingram, across the street from the Guadalupe River
His wife, Rebecca Garcia, held their three-year-old child as their sons, 11 and 8, and their 12-year-old friend trudged through mud in the picking up debris.
A sign, an open plastic container of gummy bears, a plastic jar of coins and an overturned arcade game from the soon-to-open game lounge next door were strewn in the parking lot.
“This sucks,” Jose Garcia said.
The spot is popular with people who like to go “dam sliding” in the Guadalupe River across the street, Rebecca Garcia said. In addition to shaved ice, they serve banana splits and mangonadas to help swimmers cool off in the summer.
The family was expecting to serve treats at a Fourth of July celebration and enjoy the music and fireworks.
“But things changed,” Rebecca Garcia said.
–Annasofia Scheve and Elizabeth L.T. Moore
The director of a Hill Country summer camp for girls died in the Guadalupe River flooding.
Jane Ragsdale, the 68-year-old director of Heart O’ the Hills Camp in Hunt, in western Kerr County, was at the camp when floodwater raged through the area early Friday morning.
“Thankfully, camp was not in session, and most of those who were on camp at the time have been accounted for and are on high ground,” according to a post on the camp’s official fan page on Facebook.
“However, we have received word that Jane Ragsdale did not make it. We are mourning the loss of a woman who influenced countless lives and was the definition of strong and powerful.”
Ragsdale was a camper and counselor at Heart O’ the Hills in the 1970s. She became co-owner in 1976 and served as program director before becoming camp director in 1988, the Kerrville Daily Times reported.
Ragsdale was from Houston. She earned undergraduate degrees in Spanish and journalism from Texas Woman’s University in Denton and a master’s degree in business management from Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio.
From 2007-15, she was on the board of trustees of Schreiner University in Kerrville.
It happened on the morning of July 17, 1987.
A storm that began in Mexico crossed the border, poured a drenching rain on Brackettville, then moved northeast to western Kerr County, where it dumped 11 inches of rain near the headwaters of the Guadalupe River in less than five hours. The river rose 29 feet at Comfort and spilled two-thirds of a mile outside its normal banks.
The Pot O’ Gold Christian camp near Comfort was in the path of the raging floodwaters, and officials evacuated the site that morning – too late, as it turned out. The last two vehicles to depart, a bus and a van, were engulfed by floodwaters as they tried to cross a low bridge across the Guadalupe at 7:45 a.m.
Ten teenagers were killed.
“The group was at exactly the wrong place at exactly the wrong time,” a report by the National Weather Service said.
Bud Bolton, who witnessed the flooding, recounted the horrific scene as floodwaters swept through an RV park in Kerrville. Bolton said 24 residents at the RV park went missing amid the catastrophic event. He recalled seeing a family’s RV floating in the floodwaters.
“(They were) caught inside that RV, and that RV’s floating away,” he said. “And kids are screaming, and you can’t do nothing for them?”
The Kerrville Police Department said it would continue searching for victims and survivors of the Guadalupe River flooding “until all of our citizens are accounted for.”
“This is a devastating event for our community but we are strong together,” the department said in an early evening Facebook post. “We are humbled by the outpouring of support and assistance we have received and continue to receive. For now, we ask you to please stay off the streets as much as possible and we will provide updates as we are able. Our thoughts are with all who have been impacted by this tragic event in our community.”
Bethany Babcock, a commercial real estate executive in San Antonio, is on the board of a boys’ home in Kerrville located near the Guadalupe River. She was understandably frightened when she heard Friday morning that floodwaters were causing death and destruction along the Guadalupe.
She was relieved when she learned all 25 clients and staff members of the home were safe,
“Thank the Lord,” she wrote on X.
“Everyone is fine. Absolutely nothing I was stressed about before this morning matters now. I’m praying for those still waiting for the call that their loved ones are ok.”
Texas elected officials took to social media to express condolences to those affected by the Hill Country flooding and to warn people to stay away from the rain-swollen Guadalupe River.
“I am heartbroken to learn that several people have tragically lost their lives in the flash floods that struck Kerr County,” U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, a San Antonio Democrat, wrote on X. “I urge everyone to use caution, get to higher ground, and stay safe.”
“Tragic loss of life in the hill country from historic flooding along the Guadalupe River,” Republican U.S. Sen. John Cornyn said in a social media post. “My staff have been in touch with local officials & emergency responders and are working to make sure all resources needed are made available.”
“Heidi and I are lifting up the victims of the central Texas floods in our prayers,” said U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, also a Republican. “Listen to the warnings and instructions of local law enforcement.”
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said Friday said he has asked the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to assess the integrity of the Canyon Lake dam in light of heavy rains that have caused devastating flooding along the Guadalupe River.
Patrick said Corps officials told him the dam was safe. He added that he asked them to make sure, noting that further rain is forecast in San Antonio and Austin.
The man-made lake is in Comal County, 36 miles northeast of San Antonio. It was created by the damming of the Guadalupe to control flooding. Construction of the dam began in 1958 and was finished in 1964. It took four more years to fill the reservoir.
The heavy rain that caused the flood has diminished into a slow drizzle. Flash flood warnings across the Hill Country — including Kerr, Bandera, Kendall and Comal counties — are set to expire at 7 p.m. Friday.
Rain chances will continue to decrease Friday evening, and skies are expected to be mostly dry overnight; the Kerrville area is forecast to see a 20% chance of rain between 8 p.m. Friday and 6 a.m. Saturday.
In an afternoon news briefing, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said about 23 children who were attending Camp Mystic, a local Christian summer camp, are still missing.
“We’re praying for them to be found,” Patrick said.
He said state game wardens were searching the flood zone on foot, looking for survivors. Patrick said the Texas Division of Emergency Management and other agencies had deployed 14 helicopters, 12 drones and 9 rescue teams — 400 to 500 personnel in all — to assist with recovery operations in the Hill Country.
Gov. Abbott says Texas to deploy ‘all necessary resources’
Gov. Greg Abbott said the state has mobilized “all necessary resources” to parts of the Texas Hill Country hit with “devastating” and deadly flooding Friday.
Abbott said the state activated its emergency response resources in advance of the heavy rainfall and flash flooding threats, and it has since mobilized additional resources, according to a media release.
“The state of Texas is surging all available resources to respond to the devastating flooding around the Kerr county area,” Abbott posted on X.
“That includes water rescue teams, sheltering centers, the National Guard, the Texas Department of Public Safety.
“The immediate priority is saving lives.”