Frantic search for survivors of deluge that killed 43, including 15 children

A frantic research of survivors is underway in the center of Texas after the sudden floods killed at least 43 people, including 15 children.

Many slept many when the Guadalupe river increased by more than 26 feet (8 m) in less than an hour in the early hours of Friday.

Heads of the County Kerr said that 27 children were absent from a young Christians camp along the river. So far, some 850 people have been saved.

The weather forecast suggests that more rain and, potentially, more floods could be on the horizon for the region.

Among the regions most seriously affected by the floods were mobile houses, summer camps and camping sites where many had gathered for the holidays of July 4.

At a press conference on Saturday afternoon, Texas Governor Greg Abbott said he had signed an extended declaration in the event of a disaster to increase research efforts.

He said officials would be implacable to ensure that they locate “each person who has been the victim of this event”, adding that “we will stop when the work is finished”.

There remains a research and rescue mission, officials said, not a recovery effort.

They said the rescuers were mounting and descended the Guadalupe river to try to find people who may have been swept away by the floods.

A large part of the rescue focused on a large Christian summer camp for girls called Camp Mystic.

The camp, where 27 remain missing, is on the banks of the Guadalupe river near Hunt, Texas.

Lieutenant-Governor of Texas, Dan Patrick, told the radio program at 4 p.m. BBC that 27 children missing from the Mystic camp “Many of these girls are younger girls under 12”.

He also said that many more people were likely to remain unrecoverated throughout the region, because some were visiting the holiday weekend.

In an email to parents of around 750 campers, Camp Mystic said that if they had not been contacted directly, their child is considered missing.

Some families have already publicly declared that their children were one of those who were found dead.

US President Donald Trump said his administration worked closely with local authorities to respond to the urgency.

Internal security secretary Kristi Noem said that the president was “devastated” by loss of lives and had promised full federal support.

Noem joined Governor Abbott at the press conference on Saturday afternoon and said the federal government would soon deploy the coast to help research efforts.

Elsewhere in the center of Texas, in the county of Travis, officials say that two other people died and that 10 are missing due to the floods.

The forecasters warned that the center of Texas could see more floods this weekend.

The National Weather Service (NWS) said that the region could see 2 to 5 inches (5 cm to 12 cm) of rain on Saturday.

Up to 10 inches of rain was possible in certain regions which are still in shock from the FRIDAY FLAIN.

Some parents were lucky, having received confirmation on Friday morning that their children were safe.

They were waiting for the return of their children to the reunification center.

Rachel Reed led Dallas five hours to look for his daughter. She told the BBC that the members of her church and her school district were one of the dead and disappeared girls.

“The families of these campers live the worst nightmare of all parents,” she said. “My heart is just broken for these families, just in pieces. Our whole community is in pieces.”

“Of course,” she added, “it could have been me.”

Others started going home to the flooded area and the damage was enormous.

The floor of Anthony’s apartment in Kerrville was full of mud and debris. Its refrigerator fell on the ground and the personal effects were not recoverable, with the exception of a box holding photos of childhood and its baby blanket.

“I lost everything I have,” he told the BBC.

Anthony had asked for food supplies in a Red Cross refuge; He said he had no family in the region.

“Now I’m trying to understand things,” he said.