Emergency responders continue to search for missing people and local police said efforts have been slowed by „sightseers who are making things worse.“
Key Facts
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Monday afternoon told reporters that “blaming President Trump for these floods is a depraved lie” as claims mount that the public wasn’t properly warned of the danger.
The National Weather Service has defended its alerts, which first started 12 hours before the storm, and said they provided „preliminary lead times of more than three hours.“
Leavitt said Trump plans to visit Texas later this week, likely Friday, but no firm schedule has been announced.
Kerr County officials on Monday said 75 bodies have been recovered from weekend flooding, including two dozen victims who have yet to be identified, in addition to at least 19 victims from nearby areas.
The death toll for the catastrophic flooding is expected to rise, state authorities said Sunday, and rescue teams are still searching for a group of 10 girls who were attending Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp on the banks of the Guadalupe River, as well as one counselor, according to Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha.
On Monday morning, Camp Mystic confirmed 27 campers and counselors have died and local police in Kerrville, Texas, which took the brunt of the flooding, asked non-residents to avoid the area, saying first responders have been hampered by „sightseers who are making things worse.“
A flood watch is in effect through Monday evening across much of central Texas, including for Kerr County, which saw some of the worst flooding in the state during a catastrophic event Friday.
The National Weather Service is warning rivers, creeks, streams and other low-lying land could flood as up to 10 more inches of rain has the potential to fall before 7 p.m. Monday.
At least 400 first responders from over 20 agencies have been deployed to conduct rescue and recovery operations in the impacted areas, the sheriff said, and 850 people have been rescued across Kerr County.
“We’re seeing bodies recovered all over, up and down,” Kerrville City Manager Rice Dalton said Sunday, as search-and-rescue operations focused on finding the remaining missing campers.
Abbott said state officials will be “relentless in going after and assuring that we locate every single person who’s been a victim of this flooding event.”
President Donald Trump signed a major disaster declaration for Kerr County on Sunday morning, while Abbott declared Sunday a “day of prayer.”Could There Be More Flooding?
Yes. In its latest update shortly after midnight on Monday, the National Weather Service’s Austin and San Antonio office warned: “There remains a threat of flash flooding overnight and through the day on Monday” in the affected areas. The agency said it would difficult to “pinpoint exact locations where isolated heavier amounts occur” but warned that any additional heavy downpour could lead to “rapid runoff and flash flooding.” The warning covers the cities of Llano, Fredericksburg, Bastrop, Uvalde, Blanco, Georgetown, Lockhart, Bandera, Austin, Rocksprings, San Antonio, Boerne, Hondo, New Braunfels, Seguin, Leakey, Kerrville, San Marcos, Giddings and Burnet. How Many Deaths Have Been Confirmed From The Floods?
Authorities in Kerr County confirmed at least 75 people, including more than two dozen children, were killed in the floods. Freeman Martin, the director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, said the death toll is expected to rise. At least 15 more deaths have been reported by local authorities in other nearby counties. One woman was found dead in a submerged car in Tom Green County, the San Angelo Police Department confirmed on social media Saturday.
