What to Know
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott declared a disaster in 15 Central Texas counties on Friday night, promising they would have the resources they need for search and recovery.Heavy rain overnight Thursday led to deadly, catastrophic flooding in Central Texas early Friday morning.State officials say 23 girls are missing from Camp Mystic, a summer camp for girls along the Guadalupe River. Several of the girls are from North Texas.Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick vowed to the parents of the missing campers that rescuers would find their daughters.State officials have confirmed 24 fatalities so far. No identities have been confirmed.An undetermined number of others are also believed to be missing in the flooding.Kerrville Mayor Joe Herring has declared a disaster in the town.The Guadalupe River rose 22 feet in three hours overnight near Hunt. The flood wave has reached Comfort and is expected to crest at 34 feet in Spring Branch Friday afternoon.At least two dozen people are dead and 23 girls are missing from a summer camp after heavy tropical rains flooded the Guadalupe River, sending a wall of fast-moving water through the Texas Hill Country early Friday morning. NBC 5 has confirmed that several of the missing children are from North Texas.
During a briefing Friday afternoon, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick confirmed more than 20 girls were missing from Camp Mystic, a sprawling all-girls camp with the capacity to house 750 campers on several sites west of Hunt.
Patrick said hundreds of people were searching for the girls on the ground and in the air and that he was praying that all of the missing children would be found alive.
“I’m asking the people of Texas, do some serious praying this afternoon — on-your-knees kind of praying — that we find these young girls,” Patrick said.
The camp issued a statement Friday morning saying the parents of missing children had been notified, and if a parent had not been contacted, their child had been accounted for.
“I want the parents out there who are watching … but the parents who got calls from Camp Mystic where they said your daughter is not accounted for at this point, I want all of you to know we will do everything humanly possible, 24/7, looking at every tree, turning over every rock, whatever it takes, if your child is one of those truly missing and not just out of touch, to find your daughter,” Patrick said.
While officials have not released any information about the girls from Camp Mystic, including their names or ages, NBC 5 confirmed Friday afternoon that several of the missing girls are from North Texas.
Hadley Hanna, from Dallas, is one of the missing campers. On Friday night, Hadley’s mother shared her photo with NBC 5 and said she was devastated.
Hadley Hannah is one of the 23 girls missing from Camp Mystic in the Texas Hill Country.Camp Mystic officials said they were working with search and rescue teams to find the missing girls.
Patrick said the state has nine rescue teams, with as many as 500 people on the ground, currently searching the area. Additionally, 14 helicopters and a dozen drones are searching by air. Patrick said they had plenty of resources in the area and didn’t need any volunteers to self-deploy on the ground or in the air to assist in the search.
Several other camps along the river issued statements Friday about the flooding and the status of their campers. Patrick said no other camps had reported missing children but couldn’t say with absolute certainty that there were no other missing campers. Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly said parents with questions about their child’s status should call their camp directly.
“We have a lot of camps … I don’t know any specifics about any of the individual camps,” Kelly said. “What I do know is that everybody is doing their very best to try to identify as much as we can.”
At a briefing late Friday night, state officials confirmed the death toll from the flooding had climbed to 24. There’s also an undetermined number of others who are believed to be missing.
“Some are adults, some are children,” Patrick said Friday of the victims. “We don’t know where those bodies came from.”
Meteorologists said heavy tropical storms dumped as much as 14 inches of rain in the area, causing the Guadalupe River to rise in Hunt to near-record depths overnight. Between 1 a.m. and 4:30 a.m. Friday, the river rose from about 7.5 feet to nearly 30 feet – a 22-foot rise in about three hours. The NWS said they think the river was even higher, but that the gauge was underwater and was no longer reporting data.
During a briefing Friday morning, Judge Kelley said the county didn’t have a warning system to alert residents or camps to the threatening weather. At about 4 a.m., the NWS upgraded a Flash Flood Warning to a Flash Flood Emergency, allowing wireless emergency alerts to be sent to cell phones for residents and campers along the river.
When asked why campers hadn’t been evacuated the night before, when the Texas Department of Emergency Management anticipated flash flooding and activated additional emergency response resources, Judge Kelly said he didn’t know.
“We didn’t know this flood was coming. Rest assured, no one knew this kind of flood was coming. We have floods all the time. This is the most dangerous river valley in the United States and we deal with floods on a regular basis. When it rains, we get water,” Kelly said. “We had no reason to believe that this was going to be anything like what’s happened here. None whatsoever.”
The Kerr County Sheriff’s Office confirmed there were multiple fatalities related to the flooding early Friday morning, but they were hesitant to share numbers. WOAI-TV reported that Judge Kelly confirmed mid-morning that at least six people had died in the flooding. During a briefing, Kelley later said they had not yet confirmed the identity of any of the victims and said they hoped to release more information about the number of people missing or killed Friday afternoon.
“I’ve been advised not to use any numbers. We do have some numbers, but we’re not going to use them at this time,” Kelly said.
Videos shared online showed cars being swept away and the swollen Guadalupe River raging. Those near the river, creeks and streams are being directed to move to higher ground. The sheriff’s office said that all of Kerr County is an “extremely active scene” and that residents were encouraged to shelter in place and avoid travel.
The NWS said Friday morning the river had crested in Hunt and was falling, but they may again see a rise with additional rainfall. Just how high the river rose is unknown. The NWS said the gauge was underwater and failed when the river reached nearly 30 feet. Downstream, the Guadalupe River flood wave reached Comfort at about 10 a.m. and the river rose 26 feet in 45 minutes and was in major flood stage. A River Flood Warning was issued for the river at Spring Branch, north of San Antonio, where the river was expected to rise to 37 feet Friday night.
“This flood wave will continue downstream through Kerrville and Comfort. This is a very dangerous and life-threatening flood event along the Guadalupe River!” the NWS said in a post on Facebook.
At 11 a.m., the Comfort VFD said the situation was not improving and they were sounding flood sirens, urging all residents in low-lying areas to evacuate immediately.
Due to the flooding, Kerrville Mayor Joe Herring Jr. issued a disaster declaration Friday morning. The city is reporting widespread power outages.
The US National Weather Service office in Austin-San Antonio said the water rose to the second-highest height, higher than the 1987 flood that killed 10 teenagers on a church bus near Comfort. Judge Kelly said he thought this flood was more catastrophic than the flood in 1987.
“Suffice it to say, this has been a very devastating and deadly flood. This far surpasses the 87 flood,” Judge Kelly said. “When you look out your front door and you see the Guadalupe River running, it’ll wake you up, let me tell you.”
The Guadalupe River runs to Canyon Lake, a dammed USACE reservoir in Comal County designed to catch and store floodwater.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott declares a disaster in 15 Central Texas counties
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott returned to Texas on Friday night and met with state leaders before giving an update at about 9:15 p.m.
Abbott said the resources provided to the counties for search and recovery efforts will be limitless, and county leaders will have whatever they need.
“We will stop at nothing to ensure that every asset and person and plane and whatever is needed that’s going to be involved in the process of rescuing every last person and ensure everybody involved in this is going to be fully accounted for,” Abbott said.
Abbott then signed a proclamation, declaring a disaster for several counties impacted by the flooding: Bandera, Coke, Comal, Concho, Gillespie, Kendall, Kerr, Kimble, Llano, Mason, McCulloch, Menard, Reeves, San Saba and Tom Green
The governor said more counties may need to be added to the disaster list.
State resources responding to flooding in Central Texas
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said the state is “providing all necessary resources to Kerrville, Ingram, Hunt and the entire Texas Hill Country dealing with these devastating floods.”
“The State of Texas today has mobilized additional resources in addition to the resources sent in preparation for the storms. I urge Texans to heed guidance from state and local officials and monitor local forecasts to avoid driving into flooded areas.”
Ahead of the storms, Abbott said the State of Texas activated emergency response resources in Central Texas in preparation for continued heavy rainfall and flash flooding threats.
The following state emergency response resources are available to support local flood response operations:
Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service (Texas A&M Task Force 1 and Texas A&M Task Force 3): Swiftwater Rescue Boat Squads to assist with flood rescues Texas Parks and Wildlife Department: Game Wardens, rescue boat teams, and helicopters with hoist capability to assist with flood rescues Texas Department of Public Safety: Helicopters with hoist capabilities, Texas Highway Patrol Troopers, and the Tactical Marine Unit Texas National Guard: High-profile vehicles to aid stranded motorists, Blackhawk helicopters with hoist capability to assist with flood rescues Texas Department of Transportation: Personnel monitoring road conditions Texas A&M Forest Service: Saw Crews to assist with the clearing of roadways Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service: Disaster Assessment and Recovery Agents, as well as County Extension Agents, to support agricultural and livestock needs Public Utility Commission of Texas: Power outage monitoring and coordination with utility providers Railroad Commission of Texas: Monitoring of the state’s natural gas supply and communication with the oil and gas industry Texas Commission on Environmental Quality: Air/water/wastewater monitoring Texas Department of State Health Services (Texas Emergency Medical Task Force): Severe Weather Support Packages consisting of medics, ambulances, and all-terrain vehicles“I am working in coordination with the state’s emergency response team on the significant flooding that occurred in the Hill Country and Concho Valley regions in the early hours of this morning. The Kerr County Sheriff’s Office has reported catastrophic flooding in the area, with several people missing and confirmed loss of life. Additional rain is forecast in those areas. Even if the rain is light, more flooding can occur in those areas. There is an ongoing threat for possible flash flooding from San Antonio to Waco for the next 24 to 48 hours in addition to the continued risks in west and central Texas.
“I urge Texans in impacted areas to heed the guidance of their local officials. The Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) and other state emergency response assets are on the ground assisting Texas communities with response operations and any unmet needs. I will hold a press conference from the Texas State Emergency Operations Center in Austin later this afternoon to brief the public and the media with the latest updates. Media advisory to follow.”
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