Texas Floods

3 people still missing from July 4 floods in Texas, down from nearly 100

Officials in a Texas hill country community pummelled by deadly flooding on July 4 said Saturday that just three people remain missing, down from nearly 100, after people who had previously been reported missing have since been accounted for. The reduction in the number of people on the missing list came as the search for victims entered its third week. It is a significant drop from the more than 160 people officials previously said were unaccounted for in Kerr County alone. The death toll in Kerr County, 107, held steady for much of this week even as the intensive search continued. Flash floods killed at least 135 people in Texas over the Fourth of July holiday weekend, with most deaths along the Guadalupe River in Kerr County, about 60 miles (100 kilometers) northwest of San Antonio. The floods laid waste to the Hill Country, which is naturally prone to flash flooding because its dry, dirt-packed soil cannot soak up heavy rain. Vacation cabins, youth camps campgrounds fill the ..

Heavy rains in Texas halt search for flood victims, damage homes elsewhere

More heavy rains in Texas on Sunday temporarily paused a weeklong search for victims of catastrophic flooding along the Guadalupe River and led to dozens of high-water rescues elsewhere as storms damaged homes, stranded motorists and put some residents under evacuation orders. It was the first time a new round of severe weather had paused the search since the July Fourth holiday floods, which killed at least 132 people. Authorities believe more than 160 people may still be missing in Kerr County alone, and 10 more in neighboring areas. In Kerrville, where local officials have come under scrutiny over whether residents were adequately warned about the rising water in the early morning hours of July 4, authorities went door-to-door to some homes after midnight early Sunday to alert people that flooding was again possible. Authorities also pushed phone alerts to those in the area. By late Sunday afternoon, the Kerr County Sheriff's Office announced that search teams in the western part

Trump visits Texas flood area, defends officials amid questions on response

President Donald Trump on Friday toured the devastation from catastrophic flooding in Texas and lauded state and local officials, even amid mounting criticism that they may have failed to warn residents quickly enough that a deadly wall of water was coming their way. Trump has repeatedly promised to do away with the Federal Emergency Management Agency as part of his larger pledges to dramatically shrink the size of government, and he's fond of decrying officials in Democrat-run states hit by past natural disasters and tragedy. But the president struck a far more somber and sympathetic tone while visiting America's largest Republican state highlighting the heartbreak of what happened while effusively praising elected officials and first responders alike. The search for the missing continues. The people that are doing it are unbelievable, Trump, seated with officials around a table with emblazoned with a black-and-white Texas Strong banner, said at a makeshift emergency operations ..

Hundreds gather at high school stadium to honour many lost to Texas floods

Several hundred people gathered for a worship ceremony at a high school stadium in Texas on Wednesday evening to remember the at least 120 people who died in the catastrophic flash floods over the July Fourth holiday, as well the many still missing. Our communities were struck with tragedy literally in the darkness, Wyatt Wentrcek, a local youth minister, told the crowd in the bleachers of Tivy Antler Stadium in Kerrville. Middle of the night. During a series of prayers for the victims and the more than 160 people still believed to be missing in hard-hit Kerr County, which includes Kerrville, people in the crowd clutched one another and brushed away tears. Many attendees wore blue shirts with the school's slogan, Tivy Fight Never Die, or green ribbons for Camp Mystic, the century-old all-girls Christian summer camp in Kerr County where at least 27 campers and counsellors died. Officials said five campers and one counsellor have still not been found. Ricky Pruitt, with the Kerrville

Texas inspectors cleared Camp Mystic's disaster plan 2 days before flood

Texas inspectors signed off on Camp Mystic's emergency planning just two days before catastrophic flooding killed more than two dozen people at the all-girls Christian summer camp, most of them children. The Department of State Health Services released records Tuesday showing the camp complied with a host of state regulations regarding procedures to be implemented in case of a disaster. Among them: instructing campers what to do if they need to evacuate and assigning specific duties to each staff member and counsellor. Five years of inspection reports released to The Associated Press do not offer any details of those plans at Mystic, raising new questions about the camp's preparedness ahead of the torrential July 4 rainfall in flood-prone Texas Hill Country. The National Weather Service had issued a flood watch for the area on July 3 at 1.18 pm. That danger prompted at least one of the roughly 18 camps along the Guadalupe River to move dozens of campers to higher ground. Camp Mysti

Over 100 dead, 160 still missing after deadly floods, says Texas Guv

More than 160 people are believed to be missing in Texas four days after flash floods killed over 100 people during the July Fourth weekend, Governor Greg Abbott said Tuesday. Many of those who are not accounted for were staying in state's Hill Country but did not register at a camp or hotel. The lowlands along the Guadalupe River in central Texas are filled with youth camps and campgrounds that are especially popular around summer holidays, which has made it more difficult to know how many people are missing. The big jump in the number of missing came after authorities set up a hotline for families to call. We will not stop until every missing person is accounted for, Abbott said during a news conference in Hunt, Texas, after taking a helicopter tour of the area. The 161 missing were believed to be in Kerr County, where most of the victims have recovered, Abbott said. The governor said President Donald Trump has pledged to provide whatever relief Texas needs to recover. He coul

100+ lives lost overnight: The Texas flood disaster explained

More than 100 people, including dozens of children, have died in flash floods that swept through central Texas during the Fourth of July weekend.

Flash floods kill 80 in Texas as questions mount over ignored warnings

With 28 children dead, scrutiny has intensified over delayed evacuations in Texas floods and whether early warnings were adequate, especially at vulnerable sites like children's camps

Texas floods: Toll rises to 82 as sheriff says 10 campers still missing

Families sifted through waterlogged debris Sunday and stepped inside empty cabins at Camp Mystic, an all-girls summer camp ripped apart by flash floods that washed homes off their foundations and killed at least 82 people in central Texas. Rescuers maneuvering through challenging terrain, high waters and snakes including water moccasins continued their desperate search for the missing, including 10 girls and a counselor from the camp. For the first time since the storms began pounding Texas, Governor Greg Abbott said there were 41 people confirmed to be unaccounted for across the state and more could be missing. In Kerr County, home to Camp Mystic and other youth camps in the Texas Hill Country, searchers have found the bodies of 68 people, including 28 children, Sheriff Larry Leitha said in the afternoon. He pledged to keep searching until everybody is found from Friday's flash floods. Ten other deaths were reported in Travis, Burnet, Kendall, Tom Green and Williamson counties, ...

Texas floods leave 51 dead, 27 girls missing as rescue efforts continue

Rescuers scoured flooded riverbanks littered with mangled trees Saturday and turned over rocks in the search for more than two dozen children from a girls' camp and many others missing after a wall of water blasted down a river in the Texas Hill Country. The storm killed at least 32 people, including 14 children. Some 36 hours after the floods, authorities have still not given a number of how many people in total are still missing beyond the 27 children from Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp along the river. The destructive fast-moving waters rose 26 feet in just 45 minutes before daybreak Friday, washing away homes and vehicles. The danger was not over as torrential rains continued pounding communities outside San Antonio on Saturday and flash flood warnings and watches remained in effect. Searchers used helicopters, boats and drones to look for victims and to rescue stranded people in trees and from camps isolated by washed-out roads. We will not stop until we find everyone wh

At least 27 dead in Texas floods, over 20 children missing from summer camp

Months worth of heavy rain fell in a matter of hours on Texas Hill Country, killing at least 13 people and leaving more than 20 girls attending a summer camp unaccounted for Friday as search teams conducted boat and helicopter rescues in the fast-moving flood water. Desperate pleas peppered social media as loved ones sought any information available about people caught in the flood zone. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said somewhere between 6 and 10 bodies had been found so far in the frantic search for victims. Meanwhile, during a news conference conducted at the same time as Patrick's update, Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha reported that there were 13 deaths from the flooding. At least 10 inches of rain poured down overnight in central Kerr County, causing flash flooding of the Guadalupe River and leading to desperate pleas for information about the missing. Some are adults, some are children, Patrick said during a news conference. Again, we don't know where those bodies came from. Teams

At least 16 dead in flooding, tornadoes as storms slash from Texas to Ohio

Another round of torrential rain and flash flooding came Saturday for parts of the South and Midwest already heavily waterlogged by days of severe storms that also spawned deadly tornadoes. Forecasters warned that rivers in some places would continue to rise for days. Day after day of heavy rains have pounded the central US, rapidly swelling waterways and prompting a series of flash flood emergencies in from Texas to Ohio. The National Weather Service said dozens of locations in multiple states were expected to reach major flood stage, with extensive flooding of structures, roads, bridges and other critical infrastructure possible. At least 16 weather-related deaths have been reported since the start of the storms, including 10 in Tennessee. A 57-year-old man died Friday evening after getting out of a car that washed off a road in West Plains, Missouri. Flooding killed two people in Kentucky a 9-year-old boy swept away that same day on his way to school, and a 74-year-old whose bod

Hurricane Beryl's cascade of crises in Texas a sign of storms to come

Beryl ripped through Texas last week and dropped up to 15 inches of rain in some areas, causing flooding. Storm winds knocked out power to over 1.3 million households and businesses

Beryl unleashes high winds, heavy rains in Texas, leaves 2 mn without power

Tropical Storm Beryl unleashed heavy rains and powerful winds along the Texas coast on Monday, knocking out power to more than 2 million homes and businesses and flooding streets with fast-rising waters as first responders raced to rescue stranded residents. Beryl had already cut a deadly path through parts of Mexico and the Caribbean before making a turn, sweeping ashore as a Category 1 hurricane in Texas early Monday, then later weakening to a tropical storm. At least two people were killed. The National Hurricane Centre said damaging winds and flash flooding will continue as Beryl continues pushing inland. More than 2 million homes and businesses in the Houston area were without electricity, CenterPoint Energy officials said. Texas Lt Gov Dan Patrick, who is acting governor while Texas Gov Greg Abbott is out of the country, said crews cannot get out to restore it until the wind dies down. Residents without power were doing their best. We haven't really slept, said Eva Costancio

Category 1 Hurricane Beryl makes landfall in Texas, disrupts power supply

Beryl made landfall on the Texas coast near Matagorda early Monday with a dangerous storm surge and strong winds, knocking out power to more than half a million homes and businesses. The storm's centre hit land as a Category 1 hurricane around 4 am Central Standard Time about 85 miles southwest of Houston with top sustained winds of 80 mph (128.7 kph) while moving north at 12 mph (19.3 kph), the National Weather Service reported. High waters quickly began closing roads around Houston, which was again under flood warnings after heavy storms in recent months washed out neighbourhoods and knocked out power across the nation's fourth-largest city. More than 750,000 customers were without power, many of them around Houston, before daybreak Monday, according to CenterPoint Energy in Houston. More than 1,000 flights have been canceled at Houston's two airports, according to tracking data from FlightAware Beryl dumped soaking rains across Houston after coming ashore and was expected to bri

Hurricane Beryl: Texas coastal region likely to have power outages, floods

Texas officials are telling coastal residents to expect power outages and floodings as Beryl was forecast to regain hurricane strength before making landfall early Monday. The outer bands of Beryl began lashing communities along the Texas shoreline on Sunday, bringing rain and intensifying winds. The storm was projected to make landfall around the coastal town of Matagorda, about 100 miles (161 km) south of Houston, but officials warned that the path could still change. Nim Kidd, the chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management, said residents along the coast should expect power outages as Beryl comes ashore. Much of Texas' shoreline was under a hurricane warning and officials in several coastal counties urged tourists along the beach for the Fourth of the July holiday to leave. The earliest storm to develop into a Category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic, Beryl caused at least 11 deaths as it passed through the Caribbean on its way to Texas. The storm ripped off doors, windows

As Beryl expected to regain hurricane strength, Texas braces for impact

Texas officials Saturday were urging coastal residents to brace for a potential hit by Beryl as the storm is expected to regain hurricane strength in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico. We're expecting the storm to make landfall somewhere on the Texas coast sometime Monday, if the current forecast is correct, said Jack Beven, a senior hurricane specialist at the National Hurricane Center in Miami. Should that happen, it'll most likely be a Category 1 hurricane. The earliest storm to develop into a Category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic, Beryl caused at least 11 deaths as it passed through the Caribbean islands earlier in the week. It then battered Mexico as a Category 2 hurricane, toppling trees but causing no injuries or deaths before weakening to a tropical storm as it moved across the Yucatan Peninsula. Texas officials warned the state's entire coastline to brace for possible flooding, heavy rain and wind as they wait for a more defined path of the storm. The hurricane centre ha

Power outages could linger for days after storms batter Texas again

Power outages scattered across storm-weary Texas on Wednesday could linger into the weekend after storms flooded streets in Houston for the second time this month and ripped off roofs in Dallas, leaving a teenager dead and injuring others. The teen was killed on Tuesday at a construction site while working on a home that collapsed, and three people at a campground were shocked by a downed power line. The severe weather left more than 1 million homes and businesses without electricity at one point. Electric utility Oncor said power in the Dallas area should be restored by Friday for most customers, but some outages will continue into the weekend. More than 1 million homes and businesses were without electricity across Texas at one point, but by Wednesday afternoon, the lights had come back on for about 70 per cent of those customers. Houston was flooded and damaged just weeks after a storm walloped the area, killing eight people. The 16-year-old worker was killed northeast of the c

Texas floods highlight need to reform key insurance program

Program that provides insurance to property owners across the US, is more than US$20 bn in debt