At least 24 people are dead and dozens more are missing — some of them children who were staying in area summer camps — as heavy rains caused “catastrophic” flooding along the Guadalupe River, with parts of Kerr County particularly hard-hit by the natural disaster.
The death toll from the Guadalupe River flooding has climbed to 24, Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said Friday night.
County and state officials said they continue to search for survivors and to try to recover the bodies of people who are still missing. Officials did not immediately give an update for how many people are still missing.
“We are not going to give any names at this time,” Letha said during a Friday night news conference that including Gov. Greg Abbott and other state officials. “We will be working around the clock 24/7 until everyone is found.”
Abbott called the flooding an “extraordinary catastrophe,” and promised the state would provide everything in its power to find the missing people and help the communities hit by the flooding. On Friday night, he signed a disaster declaration for Kerr County, Kendall County and other counties affected by the flooding.
“I have assured all of the local officials here that whatever they need, whether it be personnel, whether it be equipment, whether it be search and rescue operations… whatever these communities need, the state of Texas is going to step up and provide it,” Abbott said. “We will stop at nothing to ensure that every asset and person and plane, whatever is needed…is going to be involved in the process of rescuing every last person and ensuring everybody involved in this is going to be fully accounted for.”
Emergency crews continue to search for people feared swept away by the floodwaters, which were spurred when heavy rains soaked the Hill Country overnight.
In an afternoon news briefing, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said about 23 children who were attending Camp Mystic, a local Christian summer camp, are still missing. During the night-time news conference, state officials did not have a new number of how many remained missing.
He said state game wardens were searching the flood zone on foot, looking for survivors. Patrick said the Texas Division of Emergency Management and other agencies had deployed 14 helicopters, 12 drones and 9 rescue teams — 400 to 500 personnel in all — to assist with recovery operations in the Hill Country.
More than 12 inches of rain fell over a 12-hour period, sending the Guadalupe River near Hunt to its second-highest level on record at 29.45 feet, the National Weather Service said. Near Comfort, the river crested at 34.76 feet, more than 6 feet above flood stage and the fifth-highest level on record for that area.
As of 1:30 p.m. Friday, a flash flood emergency remained in effect in South-Central Kerr County, including the Guadalupe River and areas like Hunt, Center Point, Kerrville and Comfort.
Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly said the storms created “a very devastating and deadly flood,” and urged all Kerr County residents who live near the Guadalupe River to evacuate and move to higher ground.
State officials were “surging all available resources” to respond to the “devastating flooding,” Gov. Greg Abbott said.
“That includes water rescue teams, sheltering centers, the National Guard, the Texas Department of Public Safety,” Abbott said in a written statement. “The immediate priority is saving lives.”
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