What to know about the flash floods in Texas that killed over 100 people

KERRVILLE Texas AP Flash floods in Texas killed more than people over the Fourth of July holiday weekend and left others still missing including girls attending a summer camp The devastation along the Guadalupe River outside of San Antonio has drawn a massive search effort as representatives face questions over their preparedness and the speed of their initial actions Here s what to know about the deadly flooding the colossal weather system that drove it in and around Kerr County and ongoing efforts to identify sufferers Massive rain hit at just the wrong time in a flood-prone place The floods grew to their worst at the midpoint of a long holiday weekend when a multitude of people were asleep The Texas Hill Country in the central part of the state is naturally prone to flash flooding due to the dry dirt-packed areas where the soil lets rain skid along the surface of the landscape instead of soaking it up Friday s flash floods started with a particularly bad storm that dropped majority of of its inches centimeters of rain in the dark early morning hours After a flood watch notice midday Thursday the National Weather Organization office issued an urgent warning around a m that raised the likely of catastrophic damage and a severe threat to human life By at least a m several in the Kerrville City area say water levels were getting alarmingly high The massive rain flowing down hills sent rushing water into the Guadalupe River causing it to rise feet meters in just minutes Death toll is expected to rise and the number of missing is uncertain In Kerr County home to youth camps in the Texas Hill Country searchers have revealed the bodies of people including children Sheriff Larry Leitha noted Monday afternoon Fatalities in nearby counties brought the total number of deaths as of Monday afternoon to at least Ten girls and a counselor were still unaccounted for at Camp Mystic a Christian summer camp along the river For past campers the tragedy turned happy memories into grief Beyond the Camp Mystic campers unaccounted for the number of missing from other nearby campgrounds and across the region had not been issued Gov Greg Abbott on Sunday had stated that there were people certified to be unaccounted for across the state and more could be missing Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice commented Monday he couldn t give an estimate of the number of people still missing saying only it is a lot Search-and-rescue crews at one staging area Monday reported over helpers had been directed to Kerr County Agents face scrutiny over flash flood warnings Survivors have described the floods as a pitch black wall of death and explained they received no crisis warnings Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly who lives along the Guadalupe River explained Saturday that nobody saw this coming Functionaries have referred to it as a -year-flood meaning that the water levels were highly unlikely based on the historical record And records behind those statistics don t reliably account for human-caused weather change Though it s hard to connect specific storms to a warming planet so soon after they occur meteorologists say that a warmer atmosphere can hold more moisture and allow severe storms to dump even more rain Additionally executives have come under scrutiny about why residents and youth summer camps along the river were not alerted sooner than a m or reported to evacuate Rice declared Monday that he did not without delay know if there had been any communication between law enforcement and the summer camps between a m and a m on Friday But Rice reported various factors including spotty cell provision in several of the more isolated areas of Kerr County and cell towers that might have gone out of amenity during the weather could have hindered communication Rice mentioned agents want to finish the search and rescue and then review viable issues with cell towers radios and exigency alerts Authorities noted that the society can grow weary from too a multitude of flooding alerts or forecasts that turn out to be minor Kerr county agents declared they had presented a proposal for a more robust flood warning system similar to a tornado warning system but that members of the residents reeled at the cost Monumental clearing and rebuilding effort The flash floods have erased campgrounds and torn homes from their foundations It s going to be a long time before we re ever able to clean it up much less rebuild it Kelly revealed Saturday after surveying the destruction from a helicopter Other massive flooding events have driven residents and business owners to give up including in areas struck last year by Hurricane Helene President Donald Trump reported he plans to visit the flood zone Friday AP photographers have captured the scale of the destruction and one of Texas largest rescue and recover efforts Source