UPDATE:
During an afternoon press conference on Tuesday, Gov. Greg Abbott, State House Speaker Dustin Burrows and other officials gave an update on developments in the search and rescue efforts in Kerr County and across the state from recent floods.
There are 110 fatalities and at least 173 people still missing from Central Texas floods over the holiday weekend.
"To put this into perspective, just in the Kerr and Kendall Counties alone, there are far more fatalities than there were in Hurricane Harvey. That's how catastrophic this is," Gov. Abbott said.
There is now a hotline established people can call about their loved ones who are missing in the area. The Kerrville Missing Persons Hotline number is (830) 258-1111 and an email is kerrvillemissing@dps.texas.gov.
Those who are missing from Camp Mystic are now down to five campers and one counselor, Gov. Abbott said. There is another child, not associated with the camp, who is missing.
"Know this, we will not stop until every missing person is accounted for. Know this also, there very likely could be more added to that list," Gov. Abbott said.
Gov. Abbott read aloud a text from Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., saying, "we are set to declare a public health emergency for the Texas Hill Country flash floods. This will make it easier for healthcare and mental health providers from out of state to help by both traveling to the area and by tele-medicine. Please let us know where we can be most helpful."
Gov. Abbott said he spoke with President Donald Trump again Tuesday morning, and the president expressed his sadness for the young girls who have died in the floods. Gov. Abbott said that anything we need in Texas, that it will be met quickly.
House Speaker Dustin Burrows joined Gov. Abbott on the aerial tour and said it was hard to comprehend the amount of water that came through the area in the short period of time.
"It is unimaginable what the victims and survivors went through as they were faced with that and we heard the stories about that. And looking at the debris and looking at the problems and all of the damage that's been done, I know there's a long road to recovery," Burrows said.
Gov. Abbott said there will be a special session starting in a few weeks, and that at the top of the agenda will be helping communities in Kerr and Kendall Counties, across Central Texas and the Hill Country, and all areas affected by the floods.
"From top to bottom, we want to make sure that when we end that session, we end it by making sure these communities are better, more resilient, and have the resources that they need for the next chapter of their lives," Gov. Abbott said.
He also said they will address the chain of events leading up to and during the flood and local officials' response.
"We're going to address every aspect of this storm to make sure that we're going to have in place the systems that are needed to prevent deadly flooding events like this in the future," Gov. Abbott said.
Director of Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) Freeman Martin said they have 258 people from DPS assigned in Kerrville from the highway patrol, tactical marine unit, criminal investigators, Texas Rangers, SWAT, victim services, and more.
"We have plenty of resources, but at the same time, we're not turning down one resource until we recover every last person on this list of 161," DPS director Martin said.
Chief Nim Kidd of the Texas Division of Emergency Management highlighted their top priorities: the continuation of the search, debris cleanup and removal, supporting individual assistance programs and public assistance programs.
Chief Kidd said damage assessments for locals are underway and there are already over 1,000 submissions into its iSTAT program. You can apply for that here if your home or business was impacted by the floods.
"Texas will not stop until we finish the job. We will not stop until we identify, recover, every single body. Will not stop until every road is rebuilt, every inch of debris is removed. Will not stop because we are a state that cares about our people, cares about our communities, and we'll be with them every step of the way," Gov. Abbott said.
3:30 P.M. PRESS CONFERENCE:
Gov. Greg Abbott and House Speaker Dustin Burrows toured Kerr County to assess flood damage and provide an update on Texas’ response.
2:54 P.M. AERIAL TOUR:
Gov. Greg Abbott and House Speaker Dustin Burrows had an aerial view of the damage in Kerr County.
10 A.M. PRESS CONFERENCE:
There are currently 87 fatalities, including 57 adults and 30 children. 20 adults and seven children are pending identification.
Texas Game Wardens Lt. Col. Ben Baker said his agency responded in the early hours of Friday, July 4, and since then have had over 300 game wardens in the area serving the area in Kerr County. Among that, they've searched over 26 river miles and approximately 444 rescues and 30 recoveries.
Resources the Texas Game Wardens have been utilizing include 2 helicopters with hoist teams, 10 K-9 units, nine swift water boat crews, 15 airboats, 16 UTVs and 169 four-wheel drive vehicles.
Lt. Col. Baker said Texas Game Wardens will remain in Kerr County and asks for continued prayers for the families, first responders and community involved in the devastating floods.
"We've got numerous responders with specialized capabilities where we've got these large piles of debris and with our K-9s and you know, when we're trying to make these recoveries, these large piles can be very obstructive. And to get deep into these piles, it's very hazardous, and those specialized teams have to go in there layer-by-layer because our first responders also the safety of them is a concern. So it's extremely treacherous, time-consuming, it's dirty work, it's, the water's still there, so we're having to go layer-by-layer peeling things off to make those recoveries," Lt. Col. Baker responded when asked about navigating large trees, debris piles and muddy terrain in the recovery process.
Any additional water coming into the area will impact search and recovery efforts, Lt. Col. Baker said, but with drone and air capabilites with multiple agencies involved in the operation, their mission won't be deterred, just altered.
Kerr County Sherriff Larry Leitha was asked the events in the early morning hours of July 4, leading up to the river flooding. He said he was first notified by a sergeant on dispatch around 4 to 5 a.m. when they started receiving 911 calls.
He emphasized the three priorities he has: "locating the people out there, identifying, notify the next of kin. That is what I'm taking as my job as sheriff here to do."
The sheriff said they will work on compiling a timeline of the events leading up to and during the flooding and the response to it.
Jonathan Lamb with the Kerrville Police Department said local residents should limit their travel due to the damaged roadways in the area from the flooding.
"Our first responders have had a difficult time getting to where they need to go because of the amount of people who are flooding our roadways. We understand there's natural curiosity, people want to come here and see the flood damage. Now is not the time for sight-seeing. This operation is ongoing and continuous and it will continue," Community Service Officer Lamb said.
Officer Lamb said as far as he knew, the last live rescue was made on Friday.
The sheriff said some recovered bodies have been released to families, and are in autopsy.
ORIGINAL:
When the rain caused fatal flooding, Judge Rob Kelly signed a declaration of disaster that stated, "The severe weather and flooding have caused widespread and severe damage, injury, and loss of life, and is an imminent threat of doing more of the same."
On Tuesday, July 8, officials held a briefing to give updates on the flood.
The devastating floods in central Texas have left families and communities in urgent need of support. Scripps News and the Scripps Howard Fund are partnering to provide critical relief to those impacted. Every dollar donated here will go directly to helping victims recover.
