Rains to continue in Texas, risking more floods; death toll reaches 80
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Kerrville/US: With more rain on the way, the risk of life-threatening flooding was still high in central Texas on Monday, even as crews search urgently for the missing following a holiday weekend deluge that killed at least 82 people, including children at summer camps. Officials said the death toll was sure to rise, the Associated Press reported.
Residents of Kerr County began clearing mud and salvaging what they could from their demolished properties as they recounted harrowing escapes from rapidly rising floodwaters late Friday.
Reagan Brown said his parents, in their 80s, managed to escape uphill as water inundated their home in the town of Hunt. When the couple learned that their 92-year-old neighbour was trapped in her attic, they went back and rescued her.
“Then they were able to reach their toolshed up higher ground, and neighbours throughout the early morning began to show up at their toolshed, and they all rode it out together,” Brown said.
A few miles away, rescuers manoeuvring through challenging terrain filled with snakes continued their search for the missing, including 10 girls and a counsellor from Camp Mystic, an all-girls summer camp that sustained massive damage.
Gov Greg Abbott said 41 people were unaccounted for across the state, and more could be missing.
In the Hill Country area, home to several summer camps, searchers have found the bodies of 68 people, including 28 children, Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said.
Ten other deaths were reported in Travis, Burnet, Kendall, Tom Green and Williamson counties, according to local officials.
The governor warned that additional rounds of heavy rains lasting into Tuesday could produce more dangerous flooding, especially in places already saturated.
President Donald Trump signed a major disaster declaration Sunday for Kerr County and said he would likely visit Friday: “I would have done it today, but we'd just be in their way.” “It's a horrible thing that took place, absolutely horrible,” he told reporters.
