Texas flood death toll climbs past 100

KERRVILLE Texas The death toll from catastrophic flooding in Texas over the July Fourth weekend surpassed on Monday as search-and-rescue teams continued to wade into swollen rivers and use heavy equipment to untangle trees as part of the massive search for missing people Bureaucrats overseeing the search for flood casualties reported they will wait to address questions about weather warnings and why particular summer camps did not evacuate ahead of the flooding that killed at least The agents spoke only hours after the operators of Camp Mystic a century-old all-girls Christian summer camp in the Texas Hill Country broadcasted that they lost campers and counselors to the floodwaters Kerr County bureaucrats reported Monday campers and one counselor have still not been determined Searchers have ascertained the bodies of people including children in the county home to Camp Mystic and several other summer camps bureaucrats noted With additional rain on the way more flooding still threatened saturated parts of central Texas Agents stated the death toll was sure to rise The raging flash floods among the nation s worst in decades slammed into camps and homes along the edge of the Guadalupe River before daybreak Friday pulling sleeping people out of their cabins tents and trailers and dragging them for miles past floating tree trunks and cars Several survivors were identified clinging to trees Piles of twisted trees sprinkled with mattresses refrigerators and coolers littered the riverbanks Monday The debris included reminders of what drew so a large number of to the campgrounds and cabins in the Hill Country a volleyball canoes and a family portrait Nineteen deaths were announced in Travis Burnet Kendall Tom Green and Williamson counties local agents announced Among those certified dead were -year-old sisters from Dallas who were at Camp Mystic and a former soccer coach and his wife who were staying at a riverfront home Their daughters were still missing Government vowed that one of the next policies would be exploring whether enough warnings were issued and why selected camps did not evacuate or move to higher ground in a place long vulnerable to flooding that particular local residents refer to as flash flood alley That will include a review of how weather warnings were sent out and received One of the challenges is that multiple camps and cabins are in places with poor cellphone system Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice noted We definitely want to dive in and look at all those things he announced We re looking forward to doing that once we can get the search and rescue complete Specific camps were aware of the dangers and monitoring the weather At least one moved several hundred campers to higher ground before the floods Sen Ted Cruz a Texas Republican stated up-to-date regime spending cuts to the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the National Weather Utility did not delay any warnings There s a time to have political fights there s a time to disagree This is not that time Cruz explained There will be a time to find out what could been done differently My hope is in time we learn certain lessons to implement the next time there is a flood The weather arrangement first advised of feasible flooding on Thursday and then sent out a series of flash flood warnings in the early hours of Friday before issuing flash flood emergencies a rare step that alerts the society to imminent danger Agents and elected agents have explained they did not expect such an intense downpour the equivalent of months of rain Various residents declared they never received any warnings President Donald Trump who signed a major mishap declaration for Kerr County and plans to visit the area announced Sunday that he does not plan to rehire any of the federal meteorologists who were fired this year This was a thing that happened in seconds Nobody expected it the president reported White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt reported local and federal weather services provided sufficient warnings That was an act of God It s not the administration s fault that the flood hit when it did but there were early and consistent warnings Leavitt noted Search-and-rescue crews at one staging area commented Monday that more than participants had been directed to Kerr County The twin -year-old sisters identified Monday Hanna and Rebecca Lawrence from Dallas were among the casualties killed by the flooding at Camp Mystic The girls had just finished second grade their parents disclosed Hanna and Rebecca brought so much gratification to us to their big sister Harper and to so several others John and Lacy Lawrence disclosed in a declaration We will find avenues to keep that contentment and to continue to spread it for them But we are devastated that the bond we shared with them and that they shared with each other is now frozen in time David Lawrence the girls grandfather and former publisher of the Miami Herald explained it has been an unimaginable time for all of us He stated the girls gave their family including their sister happiness They and that elation can never be forgotten he stated in a message This undated photo provided by John Lawrence on Monday July shows twin sisters Hanna Lawrence left and Rebecca Lawrence right who were two the casualties killed by the flooding at Camp Mystic in central Texas on Friday July John Lawrence via AP