Kerrville Guadalupe River Flash Floods Take Lives

BREAKING NEWS NOW!

Lately it seems like Texas disasters fall on holidays. Have you noticed?

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HILL COUNTRY, Texas —

Torrential rain spawned a catastrophic flash flood along the Guadalupe River early Friday, killing at least 24 people, including children from a summer camp, and leaving two dozen girls missing near Round Rock and Kerr County  houstonchronicle.com+15apnews.com+15washingtonpost.com+15.

What happened
On the night of July 4, remnants of Tropical Storm Barry unleashed 8–10 inches of rain across Central Texas, overwhelming river gauges and cresting the Guadalupe River by upwards of 22 feet in just two hours en.wikipedia.org+1houstonchronicle.com+1. Flash flood emergencies were issued across the area, but the deluge struck before many residents received alerts en.wikipedia.org.

Casualties and missing
Authorities confirmed 24 fatalities, mainly in Kerr County apnews.com+14apnews.com+14cbsaustin.com+14. In the Hunt/Round Rock region, 23–25 girls from Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp, remain unaccounted for washingtonpost.com+6apnews.com+6theguardian.com+6. Parents and loved ones have posted frantic pleas for information washingtonpost.com+5apnews.com+5houstonchronicle.com+5.

Search and rescue
More than 400 responders, nine rescue teams, 14 helicopters and 12 drones have searched the flooded terrain apnews.com. As of early Saturday, 237 people had been rescued, including 167 by air apnews.com+1thetimes.co.uk+1. Survivors described terrifying moments, including one woman and her son clinging to a tree as water rushed into their home houstonchronicle.com+4apnews.com+4thetimes.co.uk+4.

Warnings and response
A flood watch was issued Thursday, but failed to anticipate the storm’s intensity youtube.com+8apnews.com+8apnews.com+8. Officials acknowledged the delay: Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly said, “We do not have a warning system,” adding, “No one knew this kind of flood was coming” thetimes.co.uk+2apnews.com+2houstonchronicle.com+2.

Impact on communities
Round Rock and other Hill Country cities cancelled July 4th events, including the fireworks show in Old Settlers Park, as emergency crews mobilized mysanantonio.com+1washingtonpost.com+1. In Kerr County, near Hunt and Kerrville, entire RV parks were washed out and hundreds of homes were stranded en.wikipedia.org+7houstonchronicle.com+7cbsaustin.com+7.

Outlook
With soil already saturated and more rain forecast, further flash flooding remains possible, hampering rescue efforts en.wikipedia.org+1apnews.com+1. Officials urge residents to shelter in place and avoid roadways.

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