At least 24 people have been killed and scores more are feared missing after historic floods inundated a Texas county.
Twenty-three people are missing from Camp Mystic in Hunt, Texas, after the Guadalupe River flooded and surged by up to 30 feet above its usual water level Friday.
The names of those killed have not been shared, but the final death toll is expected to rise substantially as floodwaters recede.
Identities of the missing have begun to emerge as stricken families share photos of their loved ones in the hopes of learning information about their whereabouts.
Terrified parents of those missing said they have been left in limbo as they await news from the ongoing searches, with the mother of one missing young campers, Janie Hunt, 9, saying: ‘We are just praying.’
Officials have stressed they hope to rescue many of the missing and say they’re still hopeful of finding most of those missing safe and well.
But the sheer scale of destruction – with buildings ripped from their foundations and cars swept away like toys – suggests that may be an overly optimistic prediction.
At least 24 people have been killed and scores more are feared missing after historic floods inundated Kerr County in Texas
Twenty-three people are missing from Camp Mystic in Hunt, Texas, after the Guadalupe River flooded and surged by up to 30 feet above its usual water level Friday
Although officials have not named those missing, many terrified families took to social media to urge locals to share images of their missing daughters.
Among those named were Virginia Hollis; Hadley Crossman; Cile Steward; Wynne Naylor; Linnie McCown; Mary Grace Baker; Molly DeWitt; Sarah Marsh; Anna Margaret Bellows; and Blakely McCrory.
Annie Flack was previously listed as missing but her parents have since confirmed she was airlifted to safety and has since returned home.
It is not clear if some may have been found, with over 750 people in total believed to be at the Camp Mystic campsites when flood waters began. A total of 23 are unaccounted for.
An image also appeared online from a group of unidentified girls who were rescued from the floods, where the girls looked frightened as they sat on the floor of a local firehouse.
At a press conference late on Friday evening, Texas Governor Greg Abbott said the floods had been devastating, and declared that ‘we need God more than ever.’
‘It needs God, but it also needs a robust response… searches will continue in the darkness of night, and they will continue’ into the early hours of Saturday, Abbott said.
‘We’ll put in everything we have in the entire state.’
At least 14 helicopters, 12 drones and more than 500 people from various units have joined search efforts, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said at the presser.
Among those named as the missing were Virginia Hollis; Annie Flack (who has since been found); Hadley Crossman; Cile Steward; Wynne Naylor; Linnie McCown; Mary Grace Baker; Molly DeWitt; Sarah Marsh; Anna Margaret Bellows; and Blakely McCrory
The final death toll is expected to rise substantially as floodwaters recede
An image also appeared online from a group of unidentified girls who were rescued from the floods, where the girls looked frightened as they sat on the floor of a local firehouse
Over 150 people were airlifted from danger during the extensive search and rescue efforts by Texas authorities throughout Friday.
Officials said at the press conference on Friday night that a total of 237 people were rescued by authorities through the day, with many more still unaccounted for.
President Donald Trump also broke his silence on the devastating floods in Texas, as he pledged to fully support the ongoing recovery efforts.
‘It’s terrible, the floods, it’s shocking,’ he said late Friday evening.
Trump was asked by reporters if he would provide federal aid to the area, to which he responded: ‘We’ll take care of them.’
‘It’s a terrible thing,’ he added.
The remarks came as footage from the ongoing searches of the Guadalupe River show a helicopter heroically saving someone from the flood damage.
The footage showed a person being hoisted from the river as one of 14 helicopters deployed during the searches lifted them to safety.
The person being saved has not been identified, with at least 23 other people unaccounted for from the Camp Mystic campsites on the riverside.
Over 150 people were airlifted from danger during the extensive search and rescue efforts by Texas authorities throughout Friday
As some families were left in limbo awaiting their children at reunification centers, parent Serena Hanor Aldrich told the New York Times that she was thankful her two daughters, aged 9 and 12, were rescued during the floods, but said the camp runners should have been ready for the torrential rainfall.
‘They should have been watching the Texas Division of Emergency Management and Kerr County,’ she said.
‘They were posting stuff yesterday morning. They should have been on top of it.’
She said her daughters were safe because they were in camps that were on higher ground, but Camp Mystic runs a number of campsites along the Guadalupe River that were overwhelmed by flood waters.
‘There are still campers missing,’ Aldrich said at a reunification center, where other parents were still waiting for their children to return.
