Texas flooding toll at 13, with 20 girls missing from summer camp

Months worth of heavy rain fell in a matter of hours on Texas Hill Country, leaving at least 13 people dead and many more unaccounted for Friday, including about 20 girls attending a summer camp, as search teams conducted boat and helicopter rescues in fast-moving floodwaters.

Desperate pleas peppered social media as loved ones sought any information about people caught in the flood zone. At least 10 inches of rain poured down overnight in central Kerr County, causing flash flooding of the Guadalupe River.

Authorities stressed that the situation was still developing and that the death toll could change, with rescue operations ongoing for an unspecified number missing. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said six to 10 bodies had been found so far. Around the same time, Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha reported that 13 people had died in the flooding.

On the Kerr County sheriff’s office Facebook page, people pleaded for help finding loved ones and posted pictures of them. Patrick said at least 400 people were on the ground helping in the response. Nine rescue teams, 14 helicopters and 12 drones were being used in the search, and Patrick said some people were being rescued from trees.

About 23 of the roughly 750 girls attending Camp Mystic were among those who were unaccounted for, Patrick said.

At Hunt, where the Guadalupe forks, a river gauge recorded a 22 foot rise in about two hours, according to Bob Fogarty, meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Austin/San Antonio office. Fogarty said the gauge failed after recording a level of 29 and a half feet.

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.

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.



(KSAT via AP)