A search and recovery unit paddles on Monday in Hunt, Texas, along the Guadalupe River. Strong rainfall caused severe floods on the Guadalupe River in central texas. Brandon Bell/Getty Images hide the caption
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Brandon Bell/Getty Images
After a weekend, more than 100 people are catastrophic floods in central texas, confirmed officials on Monday when the search and rescue efforts continue.
The Guadalupe River swelled more than 26 feet in less than an hour in the early Friday morning, swept low houses, cars and trees downstream and wash off a large part of Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp from all-girls.
State and federal civil servants were also asking on Monday whether more could have done before the river was rapidly increased.
Search and rescue efforts were complicated by fallen rubble, heat, snakes and continued precipitation. A flood station is in force in southern central texas until Monday evening, including the competitive Kerrville region.
The governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, is committed to “looking for each individual of the children who were both in the Camp Mystic and for everyone in the entire river bed to ensure that they are recovered”.
President Trump signed a federal disaster on Sunday to help with these efforts and said he would visit the state this week. Here is what we still know.
1. The number of fatalities is expected to increase
In Kerr County, the area hit in the toughest, the number of deaths rose to 84, local officials announced on Monday afternoon. This number comprises 56 adults and 28 children, the Kerr County's office said in a Facebook post.
Camp Mystic is located on the banks of the Guadalupe River about 18 miles from Kerrville to mourn the loss of 27 campers and consultants. Regardless of this, the family's death was confirmed by the family. According to the office from the sheriff's office, there are 10 camper and a consultant who have not yet been taken into account on Monday evening.
According to Texas Public Radio, the centuries -old institution organized around 750 camper.
Dalton Rice, the city administrator of Kerrville, told the reporters on Monday that it was difficult to lack the exact number of people who are still missing, partly to stringer and fraudsters who contact the local hotline in order to call reports of fake people missing.
Rice said of the likely that still measures: “It's a lot.”
Abbott noticed on Sunday: “Especially in the Kerrville area there were so many people who are currently tents … adults who camp near the river, people in mobile homes and such things,” he said. “There are people who are missing who are not on the known confirmed missing person
Officials asked the residents to draw local officials if one of their relatives may be missing in the Kerrville area – and avoid potentially dangerous road conditions and not to disturb the rescue operations.
Rümmer can be seen on Sunday in the Guadalupe River in Kerrville, Texas. Jorge Salgado/Anadolu about Getty Images Hidden Caption
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Jorge Salgado/Anadolu about Getty Images
2. Search and rescue efforts are continued
Officials say that more than 850 people have been saved so far. More than 400 first aiders from over 20 agencies supported the search and rescue efforts in Kerr County. Officials said that there was a “complete reaction of local, state and national first aiders” with air, water, K9 and other assets.
Rice, the city administrator of Kerrville, said on Monday morning that Kerr County's search and rescue efforts are still in the “primary search phase” and around 19 national and local teams are involved. He said her operations extend from Hunt to Comal County, a distance of over 60 miles. Rice said that the rescue efforts are slowly moved due to difficult terrain and rainy weather.
3 .. Federal forecastics and Texas civil servants distract the blame
Debrin stacked on Monday in Hunt, Texas, at the entrance to Camp Mystic. Strong rainfall caused severe floods along the Guadalupe river in central texas, with at least 85 people being reported dead. Brandon Bell/Getty Images hide the caption
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Brandon Bell/Getty Images
The questions arise as to whether local officials in a region should have done the nickname “Flash Flut Alley” more to prepare for the flood on Friday, e.g. B. the evacuating summer camps.
Rice said it was a delicate balance to determine when to evacuate. In the event of storms, the conditions can deteriorate quickly, he said. If the evacuations had been carried out too late, there would have been a risk that buses would have been filled with children from these camps on wide-lived, low-lying roads during the storm-and the camper and consultants potentially risk.
“It is very difficult to make these calls,” said Rice. “We don't want to cry Wolf.”
Rice said that there are many questions that the officials want to check in the coming days and weeks – including the question of whether the cell and radio service were appropriate.
Some Texas officials have proposed that the National Weather Service (NWS) does not adequately warn them of the extent of the danger that the Federal Authority denies.
According to the NPR's timeline, the Texas Division of Emergency Management already activated emergencies on Wednesday. On Thursday it published it on social media and informed local civil servants about the risk of possible floods.
Regardless of this, the NWS office of Austin/San Antonio published a flood guard for several counties, which was upgraded on Friday shortly after midnight for a flood warning and expanded in the early morning.
At 4:06 a.m., whereby the river level rose quickly, it warned of a persistent “very dangerous flood flood event”. The official social media pages of the police authority of the city of Kerrville and Kerr County Sheriff only posted the emergency after 6 a.m.
Hunt Baptist Church in Texas offers everyone in need free water, food and clothing. Jim Vondruska/Getty Pictures hide educational signature
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Jim Vondruska/Getty Images
Meteorologists announced that it was extremely difficult to predict what a complex weather system will do and then convince people to prepare for the worst-case scenario. Some critics have questioned whether these efforts by the reductions of the Trump government were further hindered by the federal agent, which the NWS cost almost 600 employees at the beginning of this year (some were reintroduced after public counter -reaction on the cuts).
Trump denied that the work cuts were responsible on Sunday.
“I would only say that this is a 100-year-old disaster, and it's just so terrible to see,” he said.
The Republican Senator Ted Cruz from Texas, who spoke to Kerrville's local officials on Monday, said there was no evidence that a reduction in the staff “at all” had an impact on the ability of the NWS to warn of the flood.
The press spokesman for the White House, Karoline Leavitt, defended the president aggressively during a press contract on Monday afternoon and said: “President Trump's guilt for these floods is a spoiled lie, and during this time it does not serve no purpose.”
She said the NWS did their job and local offices were “well staffed”.
4. Trump says he will visit later this week while people hurry to be able to donate
Trump said reporters on Sunday that he planned to visit Texas this week, “Probably Friday.”
“I would have done it today, but we were just in the way,” he said.
MP Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, announced on Monday with the Morning Edition that it was encouraging, such as the support of people around the world, including donations and voluntary registrations, received support from Kerr County.
“But the community will take a long time to relax there,” he said.
Texas Public Radio has put together this guide to find and maintain help in the region.
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