KERR COUNTY, Texas (AP/Reuters) – Rescue teams are engaged in a desperate search for survivors after catastrophic flooding tore through central Texas, killing dozens and leaving multiple children unaccounted for at a summer camp. The disaster struck overnight as torrential rains caused rivers to surge with unprecedented speed and force.
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The focus of intense concern is Camp Mystic, a girls' summer camp along the Guadalupe River. Eyewitness accounts describe terrifying scenes as floodwaters engulfed cabins, particularly those housing younger campers situated near the riverbanks.
Elinor Lester, 13, evacuated from Senior Hill at Camp Mystic by helicopter, recalled waking around 1:30 a.m. to thunder and water pelting the cabin. By morning, campers sheltering on higher ground had no food, power, or running water. Lester described wading through floodwaters holding a rope as rescuers led them across a bridge with water swirling around their legs. "The camp was completely destroyed," Lester said. "It was really scary. Everyone I know personally is accounted for, but there are people missing that I know of and we don’t know where they are."
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Camp Mystic management confirmed the devastation in a statement shared by the Ingram Fire Department, calling the floods "catastrophic" and pleading for help: "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."
Nearby camps, Camp La Junta and Camp Waldemar, reported all campers and staff safe. A counselor at Camp La Junta helped boys swim to safety after waking to rising water. Elizabeth Lester, Elinor's mother, sobbed with relief upon seeing her daughter but expressed anguish for others: "My kids are safe, but knowing others are still missing is just eating me alive."
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Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly, the top local official, defended the response at a news briefing, insisting the disaster's magnitude was unforeseeable despite flood warnings. "We have floods all the time. This is the most dangerous river valley in the United States," Kelly stated. "We had no reason to believe this was going to be anything like what’s happened here. None whatsoever." He confirmed numerous residential areas, RV parks, and campgrounds were severely impacted.
State Senator Pete Flores emphasized the critical rescue window: "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 airlift.
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With more rain forecast and flooding anticipated downriver, families are frantically seeking information on social media about missing children and relatives attending camps or camping in the area. The desperate search for survivors continues.
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