Camp Mystic says it is "grieving the loss" of 27 campers and counselors as the search continued Monday, July 7, for victims of catastrophic Texas flooding over the Fourth of July holiday weekend. The statement adds another layer of heartbreak to the devastating flooding that sent a wall of water through the century-old summer camp.
"We have been in communication with local and state authorities who are tirelessly deploying extensive resources to search for our missing girls," the camp said in a statement posted on its website. "We are deeply grateful for the outpouring of support from community, first responders, and officials at every level."
With more rain on the way, the risk of life-threatening flooding was still high in central Texas on Monday even as crews searched urgently for the missing following a holiday weekend deluge that killed more than 80 people. Officials said the death toll was sure to rise.
Residents of Kerr County began clearing mud and salvaging what they could from their demolished properties as they recounted harrowing escapes from rapidly rising floodwaters late Friday.
A few miles away, rescuers maneuvering through challenging terrain filled with snakes continued their search for the missing, including those from Camp Mystic, an all-girls summer camp that sustained massive damage. On Sunday afternoon, more than two days after the floods tore through the camp, authorities had said that some of the girls and a counselor had still not been found. Governor Greg Abbott said on Sunday that 41 people were unaccounted for across the state and more could be missing.
In the Hill Country area, home to several summer camps, searchers have found the bodies of 68 people, including 28 children, Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said. Ten other deaths were reported in Travis, Burnet, Kendall, Tom Green and Williamson counties, according to local officials. The governor warned that additional rounds of heavy rains lasting into Tuesday could produce more dangerous flooding, especially in places already saturated.
Nearby crews operating heavy equipment pulled tree trunks and tangled branches from the river. With each passing hour, the outlook of finding more survivors became even more bleak. Volunteers and some families of the missing came to the disaster zone and searched despite being asked not to do so.
Authorities faced growing questions about whether enough warnings were issued in an area long vulnerable to flooding and whether enough preparations were made. President Donald Trump signed a major disaster declaration on Sunday for Kerr County and said he would likely visit Friday: "I would have done it today, but we’d just be in their way." "It’s a horrible thing that took place, absolutely horrible," he told reporters.
Abbott vowed that authorities will work around the clock and said new areas were being searched as the water receded. He declared Sunday a day of prayer for the state.
In Rome, Pope Leo XIV offered special prayers for those touched by the disaster. The first American pope spoke in English at the end of his Sunday noon blessing, saying, "I would like to express sincere condolences to all the families who have lost loved ones, in particular their daughters who were in summer camp, in the disaster caused by the flooding of the Guadalupe River in Texas in the United States. We pray for them."
Survivors shared terrifying stories of being swept away and clinging to trees as rampaging floodwaters carried trees and cars past them. Others fled to attics, praying the water wouldn’t reach them. At Camp Mystic, a cabin full of girls held onto a rope strung by rescuers as they walked across a bridge with water whipping around their legs.
On Thursday the National Weather Service advised of potential flooding and then sent out a series of flash flood warnings in the early hours of Friday before issuing flash flood emergencies – a rare alert notifying of imminent danger. Authorities and elected officials have said they did not expect such an intense downpour, the equivalent of months’ worth of rain for the area. Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice said authorities are committed to a full review of the emergency response.
Trump, asked whether he was still planning to phase out the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said that was something "we can talk about later, but right now we are busy working." He has said he wants to overhaul if not completely eliminate FEMA and sharply criticized its performance.
Trump also was asked whether he planned to rehire any of the federal meteorologists who were fired this year as part of widespread government spending cuts. "I would think not. This was a thing that happened in seconds. Nobody expected it. Nobody saw it. Very talented people there, and they didn’t see it," the president said.