Rescuers Search for Over 20 Girls From Texas Camp as Flooding Death Toll Rises

A desperate search continues in Texas on Saturday for over 20 girls from a children’s camp who are missing amid deadly flash floods along the Guadalupe River in Texas Hill Country. Texas authorities provided a general overview of the disaster in the state on Saturday morning, reporting at least 27 fatalities, including nine children. Several of the deceased have yet to be identified. Many people remain unaccounted for. Among those still missing are over 20 young girls from an all-girls Christian summer camp, Camp Mystic. The camp is situated in Kerr County, which was hit especially hard by Friday’s flash flood. Parents have been appealing for information about their missing children via social media. “People need to know today will be a hard day,” said Kerrville Mayor Joe Herring, Jr. at a press conference on Saturday. Rescue efforts are using helicopters, drones, and boats to search for victims and reach survivors. A difficult task as, per the authorities, the Guadalupe River rose 26 ft in under an hour on Friday. Though the flood waters are now receding, authorities have said the area is still “very difficult terrain,” especially as debris is washing up. “The camp was completely destroyed,” said 13-year-old Elinor Lester, one of the campers at Camp Mystic, according to Associated Press. “A helicopter landed and started taking people away. It was really scary.” Read More: Texas Suffers Deadly Flash Floods on July 4 Camp Mystic is understood to house older girls on elevated ground known as Senior Hill. Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick on Friday evening said: “All campers on Senior Hill are accounted for. If your daughter is not accounted for, you have been notified from the camp. If you have not been personally contacted, then your daughter has been accounted for.” He went on to clarify, “That does not mean [the missing children] have been lost. They could be out of communication.” Patrick read a statement from Camp Mystic, saying it has experienced “catastrophic levels of flooding” and has been left with “no power, water, or wifi.” Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said in a press conference that the flood was “extraordinarily catastrophic” and shared that the state is still in a “search and rescue posture,” looking for those who remain missing, including the girls at Camp Mystic. On Friday, Abbott issued a disaster declaration for 15 counties in Texas “to ensure counties have access to every tool, strategy, and personnel that the State of Texas can provide to them, which will be limitless.” President Donald Trump commented on the floods on Friday, calling the event “shocking” when talking to reporters on Air Force One. When asked about federal aid, Trump said: “We’ll take care of it,” adding that he would work with Abbott. Trump elaborated on Saturday morning, stating that his Administration is working with state and local officials in response to the “tragic” flooding, and that Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem would shortly be arriving in Texas to assess the situation. “Melania and I are praying for all of the families impacted by this horrible tragedy,” Trump said via Truth Social. “Our brave first responders are on site doing what they do best. God bless the families and God bless Texas.” Larry Leitha, Sheriff of Kerr County, said that as of Saturday morning, over 800 people had been evacuated overall.  Texas Rep. Chip Roy, a Republican, told press on Saturday that one of his children’s schoolmates was on a mattress for several hours in the middle of the night after the flood, but has since been reunited with her mom. Roy did not clarify if the child was floating on a mattress in floodwaters or where they had been prior to the flooding. “Those are the kind of blessings that we should be celebrating, while we’re also mourning the loss of life as we identify those who didn’t make it,” Roy said. Read More: Mass Layoffs at NOAA Spark Concerns Over Weather, Climate Research Nim Kidd, the chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM), said Friday that National Weather Service (NWS) advisories and forecasts “did not predict the amount of rain we saw.” Early Thursday afternoon, the NWS had issued a broad flood watch for parts of south-central Texas, including Kerr County, though the most severe warnings came in the middle of the night and early morning Friday.