 "Texas flash floods: Over 160 still missing, says Governor; death toll reaches 109")
More than 160 people are still missing in Texas, four days after devastating flash floods killed over 100 during the July Fourth weekend, Governor Greg Abbott said on Tuesday.
Many of those missing had been staying in the Hill Country area, often in camps or campgrounds near the Guadalupe River, making it hard to track who might be unaccounted for. The number of missing rose sharply after authorities set up a hotline for families to report loved ones.
“We will not stop until every missing person is accounted for,” Abbott said while visiting Hunt, Texas, and surveying the damage from a helicopter.
Most of the missing people are believed to be in Kerr County, where search teams have already recovered dozens of victims. President Donald Trump has promised to help Texas recover, saying he’s deeply saddened, especially for “all the little girls who have lost their lives.” Trump plans to visit Texas on Friday.
Officials are facing tough questions about whether enough was done to warn people before the floods hit. Kerr County leaders, however, said their current focus is on finding victims rather than investigating the response timeline.
“Right now, this team is focused on bringing people home,” said Lt. Col. Ben Baker of the Texas Game Wardens during a tense news conference.
Hope of finding more survivors is fading. No one has been found alive in the flood zone since Friday.
Governor Abbott also plans to visit Camp Mystic, an all-girls Christian summer camp where at least 27 campers and staff died. As of Tuesday, five campers and one counselor remain missing.
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View AllScenes of destruction at the camp include mud-splattered blankets and colorful luggage scattered near the cabins. Among the victims were a young girl who loved pink sparkles, a 19-year-old counselor passionate about mentoring, and the camp’s 75-year-old director.
The floods struck suddenly before dawn Friday, as torrential rains sent water rushing into the Guadalupe River. The river rose 26 feet (8 meters) in under an hour, overwhelming cabins, tents, and trailers and sweeping people into the water. Survivors clung to trees or swam out of cabin windows to escape.
Some camps managed to move hundreds of children to higher ground in time, but many others were caught off guard.
Experts say climate change may be making extreme weather events like this more likely, though it’s hard to link any single storm directly to climate change.
Questions continue about why there was no warning system in place. Kerr County officials said they lack an emergency alert system. A past attempt to secure nearly $1 million in federal funding for one was rejected, and local residents were unwilling to pay for it themselves.
The floods have devastated large areas of central Texas, stretching for hundreds of miles all the way to near Austin.
One survivor, Aidan Duncan, managed to escape the Riverside RV Park in Ingram after hearing evacuation warnings over a megaphone. Now, all his belongings, including his birdcage and sports cards, are sitting in mud outside his home.
So far, officials have confirmed that 30 of the victims found in Kerr County were children.
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