Texas flash floods: Torrential rains caused flash floods along the Guadalupe River, killing at least 24 people and prompting rescue teams to search for missing victims.
Authorities said that 23 to 25 individuals who were listed as unaccounted for at a Christian summer camp exclusively for girls situated on the banks of the rain-soaked Guadalupe were among the missing.
Nearly eighteen hours after the July Fourth crisis started, Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced late Friday that search and rescue efforts would continue through the night and into Saturday.
Resources allocated to the endeavor would be “limitless,” according to Abbott.
When asked about federal assistance for the disaster, President Donald Trump responded, “we’ll take care of them,” to reporters on Air Force One at the conclusion of a day of public events.
Following thunderstorms that dumped up to a foot of rain, the US National Weather Service issued a flash flood emergency for portions of Kerr County in the south-central Texas Hill Country, approximately 65 miles (105 km) northwest of San Antonio.
As the Guadalupe quickly surpassed the major flood stage, officials were unable to issue advance evacuation orders due to the severe flooding that occurred before dawn with little to no warning, according to Dalton Rice, city manager for Kerrville, the county seat.
State emergency management officials had warned as early as Thursday that west and central Texas faced heavy rains and flash flood threats “over the next couple days,” citing National Weather Service forecasts ahead of the holiday weekend.
