A ‘devastating and deadly’ flood in central Texas has wiped out entire homes, RV communities and possibly swept away dozens of summer camps across the region.
The Guadalupe River rapidly rose by more than 22-feet overnight, broke its banks and overtook several small, rural towns across Kerr County, killing at least six people.
Parents of campers are franticly trying to get in touch with their children as emergency warnings and disaster declarations have been put in place.
But Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly, the top official in the county, has seemingly dismissed their concerns as he urged parents to ‘call the camps’ directly – even though there are widespread power outages across the region.
‘We have a lot of camps. I don’t know any specifics about any of the individual camps, but what I do know is everyone is doing their very best trying to identify as much as they can,’ Kelly said during a press conference today.
When further pressed about the welfare of the county’s youth, the judge snapped back saying officials ‘did not know this flood was coming’.
Guadalupe River flooding may have swept away dozens of children’s summer CAMPS
Parents of campers are franticly trying to get in touch with their children as emergency warnings and disaster declarations have been put in place.
But Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly, the top official in the county, has seemingly dismissed their concerns as he urged parents to ‘call the camps’ directly.
There are currently widespread power outages across the region, meaning it may be impossible for the camps to receive calls at this time.
‘We have a lot of camps. I don’t know any specifics about any of the individual camps, but what I do know is everyone is doing their very best trying to identify as much as they can,’ Kelly said during a press conference today.
There are dozens of summer camps in Kerr County. It is unclear which ones are directly impacted by the flooding.
Pictured: The flooded Guadalupe River in Seguin, Texas this morning
Family-of-four missing after home swept away by flash flooding
A Kerrville man, his wife and their two children are missing after floods rushed through their neighborhood overnight, WOAI-TV reports.
The area where the family’s home once stood is now a vacant lot, with officials suspecting the property was swept away by the storm.
The missing father’s brother visited the vacant lot where the family’s home once stood early Friday morning.
Similarly, an entire RV park in Ingram was also swept downstream by the floods while families were still inside their homes, a law enforcement source told KEYE-TV.
Pictured: A concerned man stands at the vacant lot where his brother’s Kerrville home once stood
Top county lawmaker RAGES over probe about safety of local children
Kerr County’s top lawmaker raged at reporters during a Friday afternoon press conference when probed about the safety of the community’s children.
A journalist asked Judge Rob Kelly why the local summer camps were not evacuated after the Texas Department of Emergency Management warned of a ‘problem’ yesterday.
‘I can’t answer that. I don’t know,’ Kelly replied.
But the reporter pushed back: ‘Well, you’re the judge, you’re the top official here in this county, why can’t you answer that? There are kids missing. We knew these camps were in harms way. We knew this flood was coming.’
Kelly, apparently outraged by the line of questioning, dismissed the reporter, saying: ‘We didn’t know this flood was coming.
‘We didn’t know this kind of flood was coming. We have floods all the time. This is the most dangerous river valley in the United States.
‘We had no reason to believe that this was going to be anything like whats happened here, none whatsoever.’
At least six dead in ‘catastrophic’ flooding, Kerr County’s top lawmaker confirms
Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly confirmed there have been multiple fatalities in the deadly Texas floods.
The judge, during a press conference around 12pm (1pm EST), shared how some the victims were having to be fingerprinted at a local funeral home so they can be identified.
He noted that one of the victims was completely naked when their body was discovered.
The judge did not identify any of the deceased and declined to confirm the specific number of deaths.
Authorities are expected to provide an updated death toll around 3pm today local time (4pm EST).
Earlier today, Kelly told KVUE and Austin Statesman reporter Tony Plohetski that at least six deaths had been recorded across Kerr County.
Pictured: A home in Hunt that was completely destroyed by flash flooding overnight
Pictured: Road closures have been reported across Kerrville, where the local streets are flooded and low water crossings now completely impassable
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Guadalupe River flooding may have swept away multiple BOY SCOUT CAMPS, as Texas lawmaker’s answers spark fury: Live updates
