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Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly, the top local elected official, said at a news briefing on the disaster hours earlier:
Everybody is doing everything in their power to get these kids out.
Kelly said a number of scattered residential subdivisions, recreational vehicle parks and campgrounds were hit hard, Reuters reports.
Pressed by reporters why more precautions were not taken with stormy weather in the forecast, Kelly insisted a disaster of such magnitude was unforeseen.
“We have floods all the time. This is the most dangerous river valley in the United States,” Kelly said.
“We had no reason to believe this was going to be anything like what’s happened here. None whatsoever.”
Teams have conducted dozens of rescues as the emergency response continued.
The state senator Pete Flores said: “We are in search-and-rescue mode, and we know that these first 24 hours are very important.”
As of Friday night, emergency personnel had rescued or evacuated 237 people, including 167 by helicopter, Reuters reports.
More rain is expected in the state, including around Waco, and flooding is anticipated downriver from Kerr county.
People have posted on Facebook asking for any information about their children, nieces and nephews attending one of the many camps in the area, or family members who had gone camping during the holiday weekend.
The Ingram fire department posted a photo of a statement from Camp Mystic, saying the camp experienced “catastrophic level floods”.
“We are working with search and rescue currently,” the camp said in its communication. “The highway has washed away so we are struggling to get more help. Please continue to pray and send any help if you have contacts to do so.”
Here are some images coming to us over the wires:
Dalton Rice, city manager for Kerrville, the county seat, told reporters the extreme flooding struck with little to no advance warning, precluding authorities from issuing any evacuation orders.
“This happened very quickly, over a very short period of time, that could not be predicted, even with the radar,” Rice said. “This happened within less than a two-hour span.”
At a news conference on Friday afternoon, Texas lieutenant governor Dan Patrick said 23 children from Camp Mystic, a private Christian summer camp for girls, were unaccounted for of 750 who were staying there at the time.
He asked people to stay away from the area, saying the Texas division of emergency management had 14 helicopters and hundreds of emergency workers involved in search-and-rescue operations.”
Patrick said Donald Trump had been informed of the situation and responded: “Whatever we need, we can have.”
A hundred troopers would also take part in the search and rescue, a Texas official said.
Desperate search for survivors after dozens killed by Texas flooding
Edward Helmore
At least 24 people have died after torrential rains unleashed flash floods along the Guadalupe River in Texas on Friday as rescue teams scrambled to save dozens of victims trapped by high water or reported missing in the disaster, local officials said.
Among the missing were 23 to 25 people listed as unaccounted for at an all-girls Christian summer camp located on the banks of the rain-engorged Guadalupe, 65 miles (105 km) north-west of San Antonio, authorities said.
The region was beset by death and disaster on Friday after months’ worth of heavy rain fell in a matter of hours. In less than an hour, the river rose 26 feet (7.9m).
The flooding swept away mobile homes, vehicles and holiday cabins where people were spending the 4 July weekend, the BBC said.
Search teams are conducting boat and helicopter rescues in the fast-moving water that overtook riverfront communities and children’s summer camps. But the search has been hampered by limited access to the area. Phones are down, which has also made communication with people difficult.
The US National Weather Service declared a flash flood emergency for parts of Kerr county, located in south-central Texas Hill Country, following the heavy downpours.
Kerr county sheriff Larry Leitha said at least 24 fatalities have been confirmed from what his office called the “catastrophic flooding”.
A state of emergency has been declared in several counties and the White House has offered additional help.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One at the end of a day of public events on Friday, Trump said “we’ll take care of them,” when asked about federal aid for the disaster.
We’ll bring you the latest updates on this developing story.
