Searchers battled knee-deep mud and fresh storm forecasts, three days after a predawn cloudburst turned the Guadalupe River into a torrent. Ten campers and a counselor from 98-year-old Camp Mystic remained unaccounted for, officials said.
Most fatalities were in Kerr County, where 84 bodies—56 adults and 28 children—were recovered, chiefly in the county seat of Kerrville. Another 12 deaths were confirmed in five neighboring counties, while 41 people outside Kerr County were still listed as missing.
Mystic co-owner Richard “Dick” Eastland, 70, died trying to shepherd girls to safety, the camp said, calling the loss “unimaginable.” Mayor Joe Herring Jr warned residents to brace for a “rough week” as hopes of finding survivors dim.
A privately flown drone collided with a search helicopter over restricted airspace on Monday, forcing an emergency landing but causing no injuries, the Kerr County Sheriff’s Office said.
The National Weather Service predicted up to 4 inches more rain, with isolated spots facing 10 inches, on already saturated ground clogged with debris.
State emergency managers had warned before the July 4 holiday of possible flash floods, yet double the forecast rain fell on two Guadalupe tributaries within two hours, city manager Dalton Rice said, leaving no time for mass evacuation.
Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick promised state funds for a siren system after criticism that the area lacked flood alerts.
“There should have been sirens,” he told Fox News, adding the state would pay if local budgets could not.
Scientists from Europe’s World Weather Attribution group said warmer, wetter conditions linked to climate change are making extreme downpours more common.
“Events of this kind are no longer exceptional in a warming world,” said Davide Faranda of France’s CNRS.
Local media noted Kerr County abandoned plans for a warning network eight years ago after failing to secure a $1 million grant. Patrick vowed to install one by next summer.
While authorities refuse to give up, the passage of time and renewed storms threaten to turn the search effort into a recovery operation.
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Source: BBC, CNN, Reuters, Wall Street Journal