WATCH our crews live in the field…
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UPDATE 3:30 PM – At a meeting with D.H.S. Secretary Kristi Noem, Texas Governor Greg Abbott has requested a federal disaster declaration for the region to assist in the recovery effort.
32 people have died as a result of the flooding, with over 850 people having been rescued, including dozens of children who had been enrolled in summer camps along the river.
18 adults and 14 children have perished in the disaster. The parents of Sarah Marsh and Lisa Bonner have confirmed the deaths of their children.
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UPDATE 3PM: 2nd ‘pulse up’ causing more rain and flooding
The Odessa Police Department has reported that Officer Bailey Martin is currently missing after the flooding on the Guadalup River.
His family had been visiting the area for the Fourth of July holiday. Anyone with any information is asked to reach out to the City of Odessa.
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More Camp Mystic Deaths
UPDATE 2PM: The families of Sarah Marsh and Lila Bonner, two campers who went missing from Camp Mystic, the girls’ summer camp in Kerr County, Texas, confirmed to CNN that they have passed away. Bonner’s family confirmed in a statement that the 9-year-old has passed away.
“In the midst of our unimaginable grief, we ask for privacy and are unable to confirm any details at this time,” the family said in a statement. “We ache with all who loved her and are praying endlessly for others to be spared from this tragic loss.”
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UPDATE 1:00 P.M. – We have taken our first look at Camp Mystic after the storms and severe flooding swept through the campus.
Over 20 young girls, many of whom just finished second and third grade, are unaccounted for after the heavy flooding and storms swept through the camp, with most of the campers having been lodging near the river.
The campus is now littered with varying debris, with many trees having fallen over or been uprooted.
Congressman Chip Roy has posted some stills taken during a helicopter tour of the area.
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UPDATE 12:48 P.M. – The City of San Antonio has issued a Flash Flood Warning. Floods can happen anywhere, but they’re more likely in low-lying areas like creeks, rivers, bridges, drainage ditches, and flood-prone zones.
As of now, there have not been any calls for water rescues within the City of San Antonio. Only one call for a downed power line has been received.
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UPDATE 12:00 P.M. – Governor Greg Abbott is expected to hold a press conference in Kerrville, Texas, to advise the public on ongoing recovery efforts. He will be joined by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, as well as Senator John Cornyn, Congressman Chip Roy, and Texas Division of Emergency Management Chief Nim Kidd.
Over 6,000 CPS Energy customers are currently without power, with 32 active outages, mostly concentrated in the Timberwood Park area just to the north of San Antonio on U.S. 281.
The Pedernales Electric Cooperative (PEC) is working to address power outages throughout the Texas Hill Country, making repairs in Burnet and Williamson counties. If you see downed poles or power lines, stay back and immediately call PEC’s emergency line: 888-883-3379.
LIVE | Tracking Severe Weather
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UPDATE 11:15am: Comal County officials have announced River Road is currently being evacuated. If you live near the river, don’t wait for conditions to worsen. Move to higher ground now and stay tuned to official updates from Comal County and the National Weather Service.
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Flash Flood Emergency along the Guadalupe River…
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UPDATE 10am: Authorities now say 27 people have died in the flooding. 18 adults and 9 children.
8 injured people.
Over 850 uninjured people have been evacuated.
10am briefing by officials in Kerrville…
The mother of missing Camp Mystic camper Janie Hunt, 9, told CNN in a message this morning that her daughter has passed away. Camp Mystic is in Kerr County, which is located along the Guadalupe River that rose more than 20 feet in less than two hours. 27 girls are still missing.
Here is a list of the kids that are still missing that we know of:
- Margaret Sheedy (Call 713-412-8860 or 713-385-4309)
- Hadley Hannah (Call 214-384-8421)
- Carlos Romero (No number)
- Greta Toranzo (832-724-6201)
- Bailey Martin & Jayda Floyd (432-638-4283)
- Mary Grace Barker (409-791-6945)
- Anna Margaret Bellows (713-252-3366)
- Cile Steward (512-633-3382)
- Eloise Peck (214-725-3371)
- Lainey Landry (713-447-4363)
- Kellyanne Lytal (713-628-3049)
- Molly Dewitt (214-608-9032 or 832-483-1334)
- Lila Bonner (972-854-1886)
- Linnie McCown (512-565-6270)
- Virginia Hollis (979-877-5588)
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KERRVILLE, Texas (AP) — At least 24 people were killed and a frantic search continued overnight for many others missing in the Texas Hill Country, including more than 20 from a girls camp, after a storm unleashed nearly a foot of rain and sent floodwaters spilling out of the Guadalupe River.
More rain is expected today. CLICK HERE to check the radar…
The City of Kerrville Emergency Management established a Reunification Intake Line for parents of campers unaccounted for: (830) 258-1111. For other missing persons, call (830) 257-8181. The Red Cross is also assisting with reunification. If you are missing someone during this emergency, please call (800) 733.2767.
State officials tell us 237 people have been rescued by emergency services, with 167 of those rescued having been conducted by helicopter.
RELATED | 23 children unaccounted for after severe flooding rips through summer camps
“We’ll be here for days to come,” said DPS Director Freeman Martin. “This won’t end. Tomorrow is going to be a very important day.”
HOW YOU CAN HELP: Kerrville officials are asking that all donations be coordinated through the American Red Cross and asked for “cooperation and prayers” as the response continues. CLICK HERE to donate…
Local organizations are asking for residents to donate blood, as blood drives in the affected areas have been cancelled, and some have been unable to make their scheduled donation appointments.
South Texas Blood and Tissue is asking the public to donate. To schedule an appointment, visit SouthTexasBlood.org or call 210-731-5590. Walk-ins are welcome at all 9 donor centers.
CLICK HERE to share your photos and video…
The destructive force of the fast-rising waters just before dawn Friday washed out homes and swept away vehicles. There were hundreds of rescues around Kerr County, including at least 167 by helicopter, authorities said. The total number of missing was not known but the sheriff said between 23 and 25 of them were girls who had been attending Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp along the river.
On social media, parents and families posted desperate pleas for information about loved ones caught in the flood zone.
“The camp was completely destroyed,” said Elinor Lester, 13, one of hundreds of campers at Camp Mystic. “A helicopter landed and started taking people away. It was really scary.”
She said a raging storm woke up her cabin around 1:30 a.m. Friday, and when rescuers arrived, they tied a rope for the girls to hold as the children in her cabin walked across bridge with floodwaters whipping around the calves and knees.
The flooding in the middle of the night on the Fourth of July holiday caught many residents, campers and officials by surprise. Officials defended their preparations for severe weather and their response but said they had not expected such an intense downpour that was, in effect, the equivalent of months’ worth of rain for the area.
RELATED | Man searching for parents, missing from RV park after devastating floods
One National Weather Service forecast this week had called for only between three and six inches (76 to 152 millimeters) of rain, said Nim Kidd, the chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management.
“It did not predict the amount of rain that we saw,” he said.
At a news conference late Friday Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said 24 people had been confirmed killed. Authorities said 237 people had been recued so far.
Helicopters, drones used in frantic search for missing
A river gauge at Hunt recorded a 22 foot rise (6.7 meters) in about two hours, according to Bob Fogarty, meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Austin/San Antonio office. The gauge failed after recording a level of 29 and a half feet (9 meters).
“The water’s moving so fast, you’re not going to recognize how bad it is until it’s on top of you,” Fogarty said.
On the Kerr County sheriff’s office Facebook page, people posted pictures of loved ones and begged for help finding them.
At least 400 people were on the ground helping in the response, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said. Nine rescue teams, 14 helicopters and 12 drones were being used, with some people being rescued from trees.
‘Pitch black wall of death’
In Ingram, Erin Burgess woke to thunder and rain at 3:30 a.m. Just 20 minutes later, water was pouring into her home directly across from the river, she said. She described an agonizing hour clinging to a tree and waiting for the water to recede enough so they could walk up the hill to a neighbor’s home.
“My son and I floated to a tree where we hung onto it, and my boyfriend and my dog floated away. He was lost for a while, but we found them,” she said.
Of her 19-year-old son, Burgess said: “Thankfully he’s over 6 feet tall. That’s the only thing that saved me, was hanging on to him.”
Matthew Stone, 44, of Kerrville, said police came knocking on doors at 5:30 a.m. but that he had received no warning on his phone.
“We got no emergency alert. There was nothing,” Stone said. Then “a pitch black wall of death.”
‘I was scared to death’
At a reunification center set up in Ingram, families cried and cheered as loved ones got off vehicles loaded with evacuees. Two soldiers carried an older woman who could not get down a ladder. Behind her, a woman in a soiled T-shirt and shorts clutched a small white dog.
Later, a girl in a white “Camp Mystic” T-shirt and white socks stood in a puddle, sobbing in her mother’s arms.
Barry Adelman, 54, said water pushed everyone in his three-story house into the attic, including his 94-year-old grandmother and 9-year-old grandson. The water started coming through the attic floor before finally receding.
“I was horrified,” he said. “I was having to look at my grandson in the face and tell him everything was going to be OK, but inside I was scared to death.”
‘No one knew this kind of flood was coming’
The forecast had called for rain, with a flood watch upgraded to a warning overnight for at least 30,000 people. But totals in some places exceeded expectations, Fogarty said.
Patrick noted that the potential for heavy rain and flooding covered a large area.
“Everything was done to give them a heads up that you could have heavy rain, and we’re not exactly sure where it’s going to land,” Patrick said. “Obviously as it got dark last night, we got into the wee morning of the hours, that’s when the storm started to zero in.”
Asked about how people were notified in Kerr County so that they could get to safety, Judge Rob Kelly, the county’s chief elected official, said: “We do not have a warning system.”
When reporters pushed on why more precautions weren’t taken, Kelly said: “Rest assured, no one knew this kind of flood was coming.”
Popular tourism area prone to flooding
The area is known as “flash flood alley” because of the hills’ thin layer of soil, said Austin Dickson, CEO of the Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country, which was collecting donations to help nonprofits responding to the disaster.
“When it rains, water doesn’t soak into the soil,” Dickson said. “It rushes down the hill.”
River tourism industry is a key part of the Hill Country economy. Well-known, century-old summer camps bring in kids from all over the country, Dickson said.
“It’s generally a very tranquil river with really beautiful clear blue water that people have been attracted to for generations,” Dickson said.