Risk of further floods in Texas during desperate search for missing as death toll tops 80

By JIM VERTUNO and JOHN SEEWER Associated Press KERRVILLE Texas AP With more rain on the way the danger 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 people including children at summer camps Agents explained the death toll was sure to rise 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 explained his parents in their s managed to escape uphill as water inundated their home in the town of Hunt When the couple learned that their -year-old neighbor was trapped in her attic they went back and rescued her Onlookers review the damage along the Guadalupe River caused by latest flooding Sunday July in Kerrville Texas AP Photo Rodolfo Gonzalez Administrators inspect an area at Camp Mystic along the banks of the Guadalupe River after a flash flood swept through the area Sunday July in Hunt Texas AP Photo Julio Cortez A person salvages a bell from the main building at Camp Mystic along the banks of the Guadalupe River after a flash flood swept through the area Sunday July in Hunt Texas AP Photo Julio Cortez A person pulls luggage at Camp Mystic along the banks of the Guadalupe River after a flash flood swept through the area Sunday July in Hunt Texas AP Photo Julio Cortez Show Caption of Onlookers review the damage along the Guadalupe River caused by newest flooding Sunday July in Kerrville Texas AP Photo Rodolfo Gonzalez Expand Then they were able to reach their toolshed up higher ground and neighbors throughout the early morning began to show up at their toolshed and they all rode it out together Brown revealed A meager miles away rescuers maneuvering through challenging terrain filled with snakes continued their search for the missing including girls and a counselor from Camp Mystic an all-girls summer camp that sustained massive damage Gov Greg Abbott reported people were unaccounted for across the state and more could be missing In the Hill Country area home to several summer camps searchers have discovered the bodies of people including children Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha commented Ten other deaths were broadcasted in Travis Burnet Kendall Tom Green and Williamson counties according to local authorities The governor warned that additional rounds of heavy rains lasting into Tuesday could produce more dangerous flooding especially in places already saturated Families were allowed to look around the camp beginning Sunday morning One girl walked out of a building carrying a large bell A man whose daughter was rescued from a cabin on the highest point in the camp walked a riverbank looking in clumps of trees and under big rocks One family left with a blue footlocker A teenage girl had tears running down her face as they slowly drove away and she gazed through the open window at the wreckage Searching the calamity zone Nearby crews operating heavy equipment pulled tree trunks and tangled branches from the river With each passing hour the outlook of finding more survivors became even more bleak Supporters and various families of the missing came to the mishap zone and searched despite being inquired not to do so Administration faced growing questions about whether enough warnings were issued in an area long vulnerable to flooding and whether enough preparations were made President Donald Trump signed a major tragedy declaration Sunday for Kerr County and explained he would likely visit Friday I would have done it in the current era but we d just be in their way It s a horrible thing that took place absolutely horrible he recounted reporters Prayers in Texas and from the Vatican Abbott vowed that officials will work around the clock and announced new areas were being searched as the water receded He declared Sunday a day of prayer for the state In Rome Pope Leo XIV offered special prayers for those touched by the accident The first American pope spoke in English at the end of his Sunday noon blessing saying I would like to express sincere condolences to all the families who have lost loved ones in particular their daughters who were in summer camp in the mishap caused by the flooding of the Guadalupe River in Texas in the United States We pray for them Desperate refuge and trees and attics Survivors shared terrifying stories of being swept away and clinging to trees as rampaging floodwaters carried trees and cars past them Others fled to attics praying the water wouldn t reach them At Camp Mystic a cabin full of girls held onto a rope strung by rescuers as they walked across a bridge with water whipping around their legs Among those endorsed dead were an -year-old girl from Mountain Brook Alabama who was at Camp Mystic and the director of another camp up the road Two school-age sisters from Dallas were missing after their cabin was swept away Their parents were staying in a different cabin and were safe but the girls grandparents were unaccounted for Warnings came before the accident On Thursday the National Weather Utility advised of feasible flooding and then sent out a series of flash flood warnings in the early hours of Friday before issuing flash flood emergencies a rare alert notifying of imminent danger Related Articles Business confidence up in June but still pessimistic survey shows The present day in History July Reagan nominates O Connor for the US Supreme Court Photos Devastating Texas floods leave at least dead girls missing Death toll in central Texas flash floods rises to as sheriff says campers remain missing Violent crime was down nationally in according to half-year FBI snapshot Administration and elected leaders have explained they did not expect such an intense downpour the equivalent of months worth of rain for the area Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice disclosed executives are committed to a full review of the crisis response Trump demanded whether he was still planning to phase out the Federal Emergency Management Agency announced that was something we can talk about later but right now we are busy working He has revealed he wants to overhaul if not absolutely eliminate FEMA and sharply criticized its performance Trump also was petitioned whether he planned to rehire any of the federal meteorologists who were fired this year as part of widespread leadership spending cuts I would think not This was a thing that happened in seconds Nobody expected it Nobody saw it Very talented people there and they didn t see it the president noted Seewer shared from Toledo Ohio Contributing to this account were Associated Press writers Christopher Weber in Los Angeles Adrian Sainz in Memphis Tennessee Cedar Attanasio in New York Sophia Tareen in Chicago Michelle Price in Morristown N J and Nicole Winfield in Rome