Page 2 - Texas

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 ..

Flash floods: Is India ready with an early disaster warning system?

A lack of coordination means the IMD, the NDMA, and different state governments must interact with each other to ensure warnings are sent out in time

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

Death toll from flooding in Texas over July Fourth weekend crosses 100

The death toll from catastrophic flooding in Texas over the July Fourth weekend has surpassed 100 as the massive search continues for missing people. The number of deaths reached 104 on Monday. In hard-hit Kerr County, home to Camp Mystic and several other summer camps, searchers have found the bodies of 84 people, including 28 children, Kerr County officials said. Authorities overseeing the search for flood victims in Texas said they will wait to address questions about weather warnings and why some summer camps did not evacuate ahead of the catastrophic flooding. The officials spoke only hours after the operators of Camp Mystic, a century-old all-girls Christian summer camp in the Texas Hill Country, announced that they lost 27 campers and counselors to the floodwaters. Meanwhile, search-and-rescue teams carried on with the search for the dead, using heavy equipment to untangle trees and wading into swollen rivers. Volunteers covered in mud sorted through chunks of debris, piece b

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 officials face scrutiny over response to catastrophic flooding

Before heading to bed before the Fourth of July holiday, Christopher Flowers checked the weather while staying at a friend's house along the Guadalupe River. Nothing in the forecast alarmed him. Hours later, he was rushing to safety: He woke up in darkness to electrical sockets popping and ankle-deep water. Quickly, his family scrambled nine people into the attic. Phones buzzed with alerts, Flowers recalled Saturday, but he did not remember when in the chaos they started. What they need is some kind of external system, like a tornado warning that tells people to get out now, Flowers, 44, said. The destructive fast-moving waters that began before sunrise Friday in the Texas Hill Country killed at least 43 people in Kerr County, authorities said Saturday, and an unknown number of people remained missing. Those still unaccounted for included 27 girls from Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp along a river in Kerr County where most of the dead were recovered. But as authorities launch

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

US expands militarised zones to 1/3 of southern border, stirs controversy

Orange no-entry signs posted by the US military in English and Spanish dot the New Mexico desert, where a border wall cuts past onion fields and parched ranches with tufts of tall grass growing amidst wiry brush and yucca trees. The Army has posted thousands of the warnings in New Mexico and western Texas, declaring a restricted area by authority of the commander. It's part of a major shift that has thrust the military into border enforcement with Mexico like never before. The move places long stretches of the border under the supervision of nearby military bases, empowering US troops to detain people who enter the country illegally and sidestep a law prohibiting military involvement in civilian law enforcement. It is done under the authority of the national emergency on the border declared by President Donald Trump on his first day in office. US authorities say the zones are needed to close gaps in border enforcement and help in the wider fight against human smuggling networks an

US Supreme Court upholds Texas law to shield kids from online pornography

The Supreme Court on Friday upheld a Texas law aimed at blocking children from seeing online pornography. Nearly half of the states have passed similar laws requiring adult websites users verify users' ages to access pornographic material. The laws come as smartphones and other devices make it easier to access online porn, including hardcore obscene material. The court split along ideological lines in the 6-3 ruling. It's a loss for an adult-entertainment industry trade group called the Free Speech Coalition, which challenged the Texas law. Th majority opinion, authored by Justice Clarence Thomas, found the measure didn't seriously restrict adults' free-speech rights. Adults have the right to access speech obscene only to minors ... but adults have no First Amendment right to avoid age verification, he wrote. In a dissent, Justice Elena Kagan wrote that the court should have used a higher legal standard in weighing whether the law creates free-speech problems. Pornhub, one of the

Trump admin expands military's role at border to the southern tip of Texas

The Department of Defense is expanding a militarised zone along the southern US border where troops are authorised to detain people who enter illegally for possible federal prosecution on charges of trespassing in a national defence area. The Air Force announced Monday the annexation of a serpentine 250-mile (400-kilometre) stretch of the border in Texas amid a buildup of military forces under President Trump's declaration of a national emergency at the border. A Defense Department official said the Navy also has been instructed to establish a new national defence area at the border. The official didn't provide further details. The newly designated national defence area on land and water along the Rio Grande spans two Texas counties and runs alongside cities including Brownsville and McAllen. It will be treated as an extension of Joint Base San Antonio. The Air Force said it's prepared to install warning signs immediately against entry to the area. The military strategy was pioneere

Teen indicted for murder in fatal stabbing at Texas school track meet

A teen accused of fatally stabbing another student at a high school track meet in suburban Dallas was indicted Tuesday on a murder charge, a prosecutor said. A grand jury indicted Karmelo Anthony in the death of 17-year-old Austin Metcalf, Collin County District Attorney Greg Willis said. Willis said the April 2 stabbing at the school stadium in Frisco struck a deep nerve here in Collin County and beyond. Anthony was 17 at the time of the stabbing and has since turned 18. When something like this happens at a school event, it shakes people to the core, Willis said. Students from several high schools in the Frisco Independent School District were competing when the stabbing occurred. According to an arrest report, a witness said that when Anthony sat under the tent belonging to Metcalf's team, Metcalf told Anthony to move, and Anthony replied: Touch me and see what happens." Metcalf then touched Anthony, and Anthony said to punch him and see what happens, the arrest report said. A

Texas Instruments to invest $60 billion in US chip plants expansion

funds will be used to build or expand seven chip-making facilities in Texas as well as Utah, and will create 60,000 jobs, TI said on Wednesday

Two Indian-Americans secure significant city council seats in Texas

In a significant political stride for the Indian diaspora in the United States, Sanjay Singhal and Sukh Kaur, both Indian Americans, have won city council runoff elections in Texas, while Carol McCutcheon has been elected as Mayor of Sugar Land, a Houston suburb with a large Indian-origin population. In Sugar Land's District 2, Sanjay Singhal, a retired energy executive and graduate of IIT Delhi, secured a decisive victory over his nearest rival Nasir Hussain. According to unofficial results from Fort Bend County, Singhal received 2,346 votes to Hussain's 777. "This victory belongs to the residents of District 2," Singhal told supporters. "I am deeply grateful for the community's support and ready to serve with transparency and dedication." Singhal, who has lived in Sugar Land for over 30 years with his wife, their two sons and daughters-in-law, ran on a platform focused on public safety, infrastructure improvements, and accountable governance. In San Antonio, Sukh Kaur, a Sikh ...

Texas set to join GOP states tightening grip on university curriculum

The gubernatorially appointed boards that oversee Texas universities soon could have new powers to control the curriculum required of students and eliminate degree programs. The legislation sent Monday to Texas Governor Greg Abbott marks the latest effort among Republican-led states to reshape higher education institutions that they assert have been promoting liberal ideology. It follows similar moves in Florida and Ohio. The state actions come as President Donald Trump's administration also has injected itself into higher education, leveraging federal funding and its student visa authority to clamp down on campus activism and stamp out diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. Some professors contend the moves violate the principles of academic freedom that many universities have followed for decades. "Political operatives have basically used their positions of power political power, economic power to demand that the institutions conform to their ideas," said Isaac Kamola, ..

Indian-origin professor Ganesh Thakur to lead Texas' top science academy

Indian-origin professor Ganesh Thakur has been named president of the Texas Academy of Medicine, Engineering, Science and Technology (TAMEST), becoming the first University of Houston (UH) faculty member to hold the position. Thakur, a professor of petroleum engineering at UH's Cullen College of Engineering, began his term in February, the university said in a release. He aims to raise the visibility of UH's research and promote collaboration across top institutions in Texas. TAMEST brings together top minds from UH, UT Austin, Texas A&M, and others to tackle real-world challenges, Thakur said. TAMEST includes 350 members of the US National Academies and eight Nobel laureates. Its next annual conference, focused on climate change, will be held in San Antonio in February 2026. Thakur's term runs through 2027, during which he plans to position Houston as a national hub for science and innovation. Ganesh's leadership will bring well-deserved attention to UH's faculty, said Cullen ...