Texas floods: The number of deaths rises with the transformation of search and rescue to the dark recovery process Texas floods 2025
The residents in the center of Texas were watching a day of prayer on Sunday to kill at least 78 people and lost dozens of destroyed floods on Friday, as the search and rescue of the survivors began to turn into a dark practice to restore the bodies.
Relatives continued to wait to get news of 10 girls and one of the Campaign advisers is still imperceptible from a summer camp on the banks of the river flooded by the sudden floods from the Guadalpe River, which rose 26 feet (8 meters) in 45 minutes on Friday morning after pre -dawn rains from San Antonio.
Larry La Betha, Sharif Care County, said on Sunday afternoon that 68 people were confirmed by the dead there, including 28 children, with continued searching for missing girls and their consultant from Camp Mestic, along the river.
The governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, said in a previous briefing that 10 others The deaths were confirmed in the neighboring provinces. Abbott said officials are still looking for 41 well -known people missing all over the state.
“We see bodies recovering throughout and below,” Dalton Rice, director of the city of Kerville, told reporters at a previous conference on Sunday.
The authorities said that about 850 people were rescued, as more than 400 people participated in the search and rescue process.
By Sunday morning, water levels fell to a foot or two by the flood. On Sunday afternoon, people in Kurville Receive an emergency alert On their phones, reading: “High confidence in the floods in the river on the northern people of the river. Go to a higher land.”
More rains on Saturday until Sunday morning, it hindered the efforts to search for crews using boats, helicopters and drones. Abbot promised the respondents who will stay at the scene until each individual was recovered. He said that the respondents were assumed that all missing persons were still alive.
The US Secretary of Internal Security, Christie Nom, in Texas, was like Donald Trump Advertise on social media It has been a federal emergency declaration that would liberalize the additional resources to support local efforts. Trump has also published a speech that federal efforts will be coordinated by Benjamin Abbott from the FBA. In May, the acting official was expelled for this agency after he told Congress that he did not believe that it was “the interest of the American people to eliminate” Fema, which Trump and Nim said were planning to do it.
Noem defended the federal response to the disaster at a press conference on Saturday afternoon, and promised that “relief will come.” However, the questions continued to spin on the Trump administration’s actions, which some believe have contributed to the intensity of the event.
In particular, the harsh cuts in the budget that affects the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) left many of the main weather offices that are less than employees, including the Austin San Antonio National weather office (NWS).
The officials defended on Sunday, and they insisted on warnings of sudden floods were Sad. But some residents said they did not receive them – which was recognized by Texas Patrick Lieutenant on Sunday on Fox News. The initial NWS forecast called only 3-6 inches of rain-and not the intense rain that sparked deadly floods.
Washington Post I mentioned These rains of 1.8 tongter of Texas Hill Control rains – which include Kurville – and Plato Edwards on Friday morning.
Matthew Stone, 44, from Kerville, said the police came at the doors – but he did not receive any warning on his phone.
Stone said: “We did not get an emergency alert. There was nothing,” even suddenly there was “Black Death Wall.”
Questions are asked with an increase about the timing and method of warnings about the risk of flooding from the CARE province, with the poster on Facebook in the middle of the night unlikely to see who are in danger. Local The New York Times was told These expensive emergency alert systems have not previously wanted the province’s taxpayers to pay one price.
There are other clients close to early outdoor sirens that are activated for life -threatening emergency situations such as floods. On Friday morning, emergency alarm sirens were said to have fallen into a rest, less than 20 miles from Kerrville, warning the population of evacuation with Rose Guadalupe River. Abbott told reporters on Sunday that the lack of sirens near the Riveride camps is “something that will be seen.”
in The last tense moments At a press conference on Sunday morning, Rice, director of the city of Kerville, refused to answer the correspondent question about the reason for not transferring information related to the threat of flooding to the camps along the river. He said: “This is a great question, but again, we want to make sure to continue focusing, we still have 11 missing children that we want to reunite with their families.”
Then Rice and other local officials ended the press conference and moved away when the correspondents pressed her to obtain answers. “Sir, is an emergency alert on the fourth, on that morning? Did anyone get any alert?” One correspondent asked. “Sir, there are families worth better than that,” another said while Rice opened the door and came out.
A member of the Republican Congress at Texas Chip Roy, whose area includes Kiir Province, said at the Sunday press conference that the measures taken before and during the floods would be examined.
He said: “There will be a lot of preparing the fingers, and a lot of the second guess.” “There are a lot of people who say” why “and” How, and I understand it. “
Abbott said late on Saturday that he visited the Mestic camp, a famous Christian summer refuge for girls on the banks of the Guadalobi River in Hunt.
The camp, which was more than 750 girls at some time at the time of the flood, was overwhelmed by a stream of water, as it was more than 27 missing at first. The number of missing persons from there was decreased by Sunday to 12, with the death toll, according to officials.
Sarah Marsh, an eight -year -old girl from Mountain Brock, Alabama, was in the camp, It was found dead SaturdayAs Dick Estland, the director has long been in the camp that was found with three girls who tried to save it. Ibn Istland I told the Washington Post His father tried to save the girls in the Bubble Inn cabin, which is located about 150 yards from the edge of the river.
“The river was running beside him, it was terrible in different ways from its opinion on any natural disaster,” Abbott said in a post to X after he toured the ruins of the Sufi camp with the rescue crews.
“The height that the accelerated water reached to the top of the cabins was a shock. We will not stop until we find every girl who was in those cabins.”
The camp, which is a long habitat for the daughters of the political elite in Texas, imposed a ban on both mobile phones and the social media of the camp, and closed them from distraction, but also two places to receive emergency warnings.
Former President George W. Bush and his wife, Laura, said in a statement that they are sad because of the loss of life and many feel many. “Laura Bush once worked as a consultant in the camp during her university studies.
Mate Jin Rajseld, the director of the nearby Hart Hills camp, who was described by friends as “Column“.
On Friday, Nim Kid, head of Texas’s emergency decision, said that the early NWS expectations “do not expect the amount of rain we have seen.” His comments prompted the defense of the service on Sunday by the Special Weather Service, which said in a statement that pre -dawn warnings on Friday “should have provided officials with time to evacuate camps such as Camp Mystic and made people to safety.”
Meanwhile, Tom Fahi, Legislative Director of the NWS Organization, told CNN that he believed that Texas service offices are “employment and sufficient resources.” However, he said that the office of Austin San Antonio misses the meteorologist in warning coordination, which is a decisive link between NWS and emergency managers.
NOAA official told the network that the vacant job, along with many other major roles, was the result of the White House offered early retirement incentives after the start of the second Trump presidency in January.
The identities of more deaths became known on Sunday, as the survivors shared unusual stories on how to save them.
Two children from Dallas, Blair Harper, 13, and her 11 -year -old Brock’s sister, were among those who were confirmed by the Catholic high school officials who attended. They resided in a cabin on the banks of the river with their ancestors, who were missing.
“He was a talented student and had a nice heart” and that Brook was like a light in any room, where people attracted to it and made them laugh and enjoy the moment. “
High School Football Coach Reese Zonker and his wife, Tina, were among the victims of Kiir County, Kerifelle Daily Times mentioned – And their two children are missing.
The newspaper also identified Teacher Jeff Wilson Between the victims, with his wife, amber, and his son Shiloh.
Officials in Burn Province Tell Khou TV The head of the local firefighting Ministry was among the three deaths there.
The Associated Press contributed Reporting