Texas Floods: Death toll rises to 50; 27 girls missing

Authorities says about 850 people had been rescued, with more than 1,700 people involved in the search-and-rescue operation

Texas: After devastating flooding caused by torrential rains killed at least 50 people in the US state of Texas, rescuers looked for 27 girls who went missing from a riverbank summer camp on Saturday. The area is still being battered by further rain.

At least 43 people, including 15 children, were killed in Kerr County’s flooding, and at least eight more individuals perished in neighbouring counties.

Earlier in the day, Texas Governor Greg Abbott said he had told responders to presume all missing persons were still alive, while Nim Kidd, head of the Texas division of disaster management, said the chances of discovering additional survivors decreased as the hours went by.

There are still 27 girls missing from Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp on the Guadalupe River, according to Kerrville city manager Dalton Rice. He went on to say that there was a chance that there were more individuals nearby who weren’t at the camp. In just forty-five minutes before daybreak on Friday, torrential rain drove the river to climb 26 feet (8 meters), washing away cars and houses.

Larry Leitha, the county sheriff for Kerr, reported that “catastrophic” rains had ravaged the region, which is north of San Antonio, and that some 750 girls were camping beside the river for the Independence Day weekend.

Authorities said about 850 people had been rescued, with more than 1,700 people involved in the search-and-rescue operation.

Of the bodies recovered, 12 adults and five children were still unidentified, officials said.

Searchers used helicopters and drones to look for victims and rescue people stranded by flood waters. The confirmed death toll is almost certain to rise, although hopes remain that some of those affected will be found alive. “They could be in a tree, they could be out of communication,” said Dan Patrick, Texas’s lieutenant governor. “We are praying for all of those missing to be found alive.”

Huge downpours like this are becoming more common around the world due to the climate crisis, with a warming atmosphere holding a greater amount of moisture. In eastern Texas, there has already been a 20% increase in the number of days with heavy rain or snow since 1900, with the intensity of extreme rain set to rise by another 10% in the next decade.

In the area affected by the floods in Texas, parents and families posted photos of missing loved ones and pleas for information. “The camp was completely destroyed,” said Elinor Lester, 13, one of hundreds of campers at Camp Mystic. “A helicopter landed and started taking people away. It was really scary.”