At least 13 dead, more than 20 girls missing in Texas floods

KERRVILLE, Texas (AP) — Months worth of heavy rain fell in a matter of hours on Texas Hill Country, leaving at least 13 people dead and many more unaccounted for Friday, including about 20 girls attending a summer camp, as search teams conducted boat and helicopter rescues in fast-moving floodwaters.

Desperate pleas peppered social media as loved ones sought any information about people caught in the flood zone. At least 10 inches of rain poured down overnight in central Kerr County, causing flash flooding of the Guadalupe River.

Authorities stressed that the situation was still developing and that the death toll could change, with rescue operations ongoing for an unspecified number of missing. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said six to 10 bodies had been found so far. Around the same time, Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha reported that 13 people had died in the flooding.

Authorities were still working to identify the dead.

“Some are adults, some are children,” Patrick said during a news conference.

Pleading for information after flash flood

A river gauge at Hunt recorded a 22 foot rise (6.7 meters) in about two hours, according to Bob Fogarty, meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Austin/San Antonio office. The gauge failed after recording a level of 29 and a half feet (9 meters).

“The water’s moving so fast, you’re not going to recognize how bad it is until it’s on top of you,” Fogarty said.

On the Kerr County sheriff’s office Facebook page, people posted pictures of loved ones and begged for help finding them.

At least 400 people were on the ground helping in the response, Patrick said. Nine rescue teams, 14 helicopters and 12 drones were being used, with some people being rescued from trees.

About 23 of the roughly 750 girls attending Camp Mystic were among those who were unaccounted for, Patrick said.

Search crews were doing “whatever we can do to find everyone we can,” he said.

‘Pitch black wall of death’

In Ingram, Erin Burgess woke to thunder and rain at 3:30 a.m. Just 20 minutes later, water was pouring into her home directly across from the river, she said. She described an agonizing hour clinging to a tree and waiting for the water to recede enough so they could walk up the hill to a neighbor’s home.

“My son and I floated to a tree where we hung onto it, and my boyfriend and my dog floated away. He was lost for a while, but we found them,” she said.

Of her 19-year-old son, Burgess said: “Thankfully he’s over 6 feet tall. That’s the only thing that saved me, was hanging on to him.”

Matthew Stone, 44, of Kerrville, said police came knocking on doors at 5:30 a.m. but that he had received no warning on his phone.

“We got no emergency alert. There was nothing,” Stone said. Then: “a pitch black wall of death.”

Stone said police used his paddle boat to help rescue a neighbor. He and the rescuers thought they heard someone yelling “help!” from the water but couldn’t see anyone, he said.

‘No one knew this kind of flood was coming’

The forecast had called for rain, with a flood watch upgraded to a warning overnight for at least 30,000 people. But totals in some places exceeded expectations, Fogarty said.

Patrick noted that the potential for heavy rain and flooding covered a large area.

“Everything was done to give them a heads up that you could have heavy rain, and we’re not exactly sure where it’s going to land,” Patrick said. “Obviously as it got dark last night, we got into the wee morning of the hours, that’s when the storm started to zero in.”

Asked about how people were notified in Kerr County so that they could get to safety, Judge Rob Kelly, the county’s chief elected official, said: “We do not have a warning system.”

When reporters pushed on why more precautions weren’t taken, Kelly responded: “Rest assured, no one knew this kind of flood was coming.”

Deaths in New Jersey blamed on thunderstorms

The flooding in Texas occurred as severe weather moved through central New Jersey, where thunderstorms were blamed for at least three deaths.

Among them were two men in Plainfield who died after a tree fell onto their vehicle, according to a city Facebook post.