At least 121 people have been killed and 173 others are missing as Texas officials deflect questions over the state’s response to the catastrophic flash floods.
Kerr County remains at the center of the disaster after the Guadalupe River burst its banks on Friday. Ninety-six people in the county are dead, including 36 children, officials said Thursday. At least 161 others were still missing in the county.
Questions are mounting over whether local, state and federal officials could’ve done more to warn residents about the floods. Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said his office is “in the process” of assembling a timeline of the actions that local officials took ahead of the disaster.
Among the dead are 27 girls and staff members from Camp Mystic, an all-girls Christian summer camp situated on the bank of the Guadalupe River. Five campers and one 19-year-old counselor remained missing.
Several of the cabins were built on “extremely hazardous” floodways where water moves at its highest velocity and depth, according to an analysis by The New York Times. Just two days before the flood, the camp passed its annual state safety inspection and had a written disaster plan in place.
Trump heading to Texas to witness damage firsthand
President Donald Trump will travel to Texas on Friday for a firsthand look at the devastation caused by the catastrophic floods.
The president is expected to do an aerial tour of some of the hard-hit areas.
The White House also says he’ll visit the state emergency operations centre to meet with first responders and relatives of flood victims.
Trump will also get a briefing from officials. Republican Governor Greg Abbott, Senator John Cornyn and Senator Ted Cruz are joining the visit, with the GOP senators expected to fly to their state with Trump aboard Air Force One.
“Nobody ever saw a thing like this coming,” Trump told NBC News on Thursday, adding, “This is a once-in-every-200-year deal.” He’s also suggested he’d have been ready to visit Texas within hours but didn’t want to burden authorities still searching for the more than 170 people who are still missing.
Watch: Death toll rises as authorities continue rescue and recovery efforts
Governor Abbott asks for more communities to be added to Trump’s Major Disaster Declaration
Governor Greg Abbott has asked for more communities to be added to the Major Disaster Declaration President Donald Trump approved last Sunday after flash floods devastated Central Texas two days prior.
The declaration made federal funding available to individuals in hard-hit Kerr County and state and eligible local governments.
“In addition to Kerrville, many communities across Texas were hit with deadly flooding. I have added San Saba, Burnet, Williamson, Travis and Tom Green counties to President Trump’s Disaster Declaration,” Abbott wrote on X Thursday night.
Timelapse shows deadly Texas floodwater rising in minutes
Former Texas official says flood alert would have been ‘ineffective’ for Hunt even if it was sent out earlier
John David Trolinger, former IT director for Kerr County, said a flood alert would have been “ineffective” for hard-hit Hunt even if it was sent out earlier.
Trolinger was listening to dispatch calls Friday morning when floodwaters started hitting Central Texas.
Audio of these calls from a local firefighter was obtained by CNN and played on air Thursday.
“Is there any way we can send a CodeRED out to our Hunt residents asking them to find higher ground or stay home?” the firefighter asked.
That call was made at 4:22 a.m. local time, according to KSAT, which also obtained dispatch recordings. Trolinger started hearing calls signaling something was wrong at 3:27 a.m. local time, according to CNN’s Erin Burnett, who had Trolinger on her show Thursday night.
When Burnett asked Trolinger, who had helped install the CodeRED emergency alert system, if things could have played out differently, he said, “ It’s too late for Hunt. The water’s come up and the wall of water’s heading down to Ingram.”
“ A quick action could have helped people down river. But at 3:30, once it hit 4:30, it was just too late. The CodeRED would’ve been ineffective in my opinion.”
The first CodeRED alerts were sent out at 5:34 a.m. local time, per KSAT.
Texas flood before-and-after pictures show devastating toll of catastrophe which left 120 dead and 173 missing
Texas flags will be lowered to half-staff until July 14
Governor Greg Abbott announced Wednesday Texas flags will be lowered to half-staff “in heartfelt remembrance of those whose lives were tragically lost in the recent floods.”
While search and rescue efforts are still underway, 121 people have died so far and 173 are missing after flash flooding on July 4 devastated Central Texas.
The flags will be at half-staff until Monday, July 14.
Governor Abbott thanks Tennessee for helping in Central Texas search and rescue efforts
Governor Greg Abbott thanked Tennessee for helping with search and rescue efforts by sending K-9 teams to Central Texas following catastrophic floods on July 4.
In pictures: Search and rescue efforts continue for sixth day
It’s been six days since flash floods along the Guadalupe River devastated Central Texas.
At least 121 people were killed in the floods, and 173 are still missing. Search and rescue efforts continued Thursday, but hopes of finding survivors have faded. No survivors have been found since Friday.
Here are some pictures from Thursday’s search and rescue efforts:
Trump calls for alarms after flash floods devastate Central Texas
President Donald Trump called for alarms after flash floods along the Guadalupe River last Friday devastated Central Texas.
Trump told NBC News’ Kristen Welker Thursday he thinks “everyone’s doing a great job” responding to the catastrophe.
While Texas officials are working tirelessly to find the 173 people still missing, questions have been raised about whether local, state and federal officials could’ve done more to warn residents about the floods.
“After having seen this horrible event, I would imagine you’d put alarms up in some form, where alarms would go up if they see any large amounts of water or whatever it is,” Trump told Welker, adding, “But the local officials were hit by this just like everybody else.”
Source: independent.co.uk