Search for 27 missing girls plows forward after flash flood kills at least 51 people in Texas

KERRVILLE Texas AP Rescuers scoured a devastated central Texas landscape of mangled trees overturned cars and muck-filled debris Saturday in an increasingly bleak mission to locate survivors including girls who have not been seen since their camp was slammed with a wall of water in a historic flash flood The flooding in Kerr County killed at least people including children and at least eight people died in nearby counties Government still have not explained how a multitude of people were missing beyond the children from Camp Mystic a Christian summer camp along a river in Kerr County where the majority of the dead were recovered The destructive fast-moving waters rose feet meters on the Guadalupe River in just minutes before daybreak Friday washing away homes and vehicles The danger was not over as 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 casualties and to rescue people stranded in trees and from camps isolated by washed-out roads Gov Greg Abbott vowed that government will work around the clock and stated new areas were being searched as the water receded He declared Sunday a day of prayer for the state I urge every Texan to join me in prayer this Sunday for the lives lost for those still missing for the recovery of our communities and for the safety of those on the front lines he revealed in a comment Personnel were coming under scrutiny over whether the camps and residents in places long vulnerable to flooding received proper warning and whether enough preparations were made The hills along the Guadalupe River in central Texas are dotted with century-old youth camps and campgrounds where generations of families have come to swim and enjoy the outdoors The area is especially popular around the July Fourth holiday making it more challenging to know how a large number of are missing We don t even want to begin to estimate at this time Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice commented earlier Raging storm hit camp in middle of the night The camp was perfectly destroyed noted Elinor Lester one of hundreds of campers A helicopter landed and started taking people away It was really scary The raging storm fueled by incredible amounts of moisture woke up her cabin just after midnight Friday When rescuers arrived they tied a rope for the girls to hold as they walked across a bridge with water whipping around their legs she mentioned Frantic parents and families posted photos of missing loved ones and pleas for information Among those ratified dead were an -year-old girl from Mountain Brook Alabama who was at Camp Mystic and the director of another camp just up the road The flooding in the middle of the night caught multiple residents campers and personnel by surprise AccuWeather stated the private forecasting company and the National Weather Provision sent warnings about promising flash flooding hours beforehand These warnings should have provided officers with ample time to evacuate camps such as Camp Mystic and get people to safety AccuWeather noted in a message It called the Hill Country one of the bulk flash-flood-prone areas of the U S because of its terrain and multiple water crossings At the Mo-Ranch Camp in the locality of Hunt representatives had been monitoring the weather and opted to move several hundred campers and attendees at a church youth conference to higher ground At nearby Camps Rio Vista and Sierra Vista organizers also had mentioned on social media that they were watching the weather the day before wrapping up their second summer session Thursday Functionaries and elected representatives have announced they did not expect such an intense downpour the equivalent of months worth of rain for the area U S Rep Chip Roy whose district includes the ravaged area called it a once-in-a-century flood and acknowledged that there would be second-guessing and finger-pointing as people look for someone to blame Helicopters and drones used in frantic search Search crews were facing harsh conditions while looking in every manageable location Rice disclosed Authorities mentioned more than people had been rescued in the last hours and there were heroic efforts at the camps to save children Homeland Safety Secretary Kristi Noem arrived and pledged that the Trump administration would use all available guidance Coast Guard helicopters and planes were assisting to ensure operations can continue even in darkness One reunification center at an elementary school was mostly quiet after taking in hundreds of evacuees the day before We still have people coming here looking for their loved ones We ve had a little success but not much declared Bobby Templeton superintendent of Ingram Independent School District People clung to trees and fled to attics In Ingram Erin Burgess woke to thunder and rain in the middle of the night Just minutes later water was pouring into her home she revealed She described an agonizing hour clinging to a tree with her teen son My son and I floated to a tree where we hung onto it and my boyfriend and my dog floated away He was lost for a while but we discovered them she commented Barry Adelman explained water pushed everyone in his three-story house into the attic including his -year-old grandmother and -year-old grandson I was having to look at my grandson in the face and tell him everything was going to be OK but inside I was scared to death he declared Locals know the place as flash flood alley When it rains water doesn t soak into the soil noted Austin Dickson CEO of the District Foundation of the Texas Hill Country which was collecting donations It rushes down the hill Nobody saw this coming The weekend forecast had called for rain with a flood watch upgraded to a warning overnight Friday for at least people We know we get rains We know the river rises But nobody saw this coming explained Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly the county s chief elected official The county had considered a flood warning system on the river similar to a tornado warning siren about six or seven years ago but Kelly explained the idea never got off the ground and the cost would have been an issue Kelly declared he was heartbroken seeing body bags at the funeral home and the devastation on the ground during a helicopter tour The rescue has gone as well as can be expected It s getting time now for the recovery he mentioned And that s going to be a long toilsome task for us