The death toll in the flash floods in Texas has risen to 27, with hundreds of rescuers still combing through water and debris to find the missing people. According to The Wall Street Journal quoting Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha, eighteen of the victims who have recovered were adults and nine were children.
“We are working hard to identify who is still missing,” said Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha.
According to the sheriff’s office, around 800 people have been evacuated from Kerr County. The US National Weather Service said that the flash flood emergency has largely ended for Kerr Country, which is the epicenter of the flooding. Kerr County sits in the Texas Hill Country, a rural area known for its rugged terrain, historic towns and other tourist attractions.
Reacting on the flash floods, US President Donald Trump said that the federal government is working with the state and local officials to respond to the flooding.
“Melania and I are praying for all of the families impacted by this horrible tragedy. Our Brave First Responders are on site doing what they do best,” the US President said.
News agency Reuters reported that at least 23 to 25 people from the Camp Mystic summer camp were missing, most of them reported to be young girls. The river waters rose 29 feet rapidly near the camp.
The Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrik said that up to 500 rescue workers were searching for an unknown number of people who were still missing, including the many who had come to the area for an Independence Day celebration by the river.
“We don’t know how many people were in tents on the side, in small trailers by the side, in rented homes by the side, because it was going to be the Fourth of July holiday,” he said on Fox News Live.
The weekend disaster echoes a catastrophic 1987 Guadalupe River flood in which 10 teenagers drowned when trying to leave a church camp, according to the National Weather Service.
(With inputs from agencies)
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