What happened
Authorities in central Texas are looking for dozens of people still missing after Friday’s devastating pre-dawn floods caused the banks of Kerr County’s Guadalupe River to collapse. A total of 82 people are confirmed dead, including 28 children. Houses and cars were swept away and fast-moving waters engulfed a Christian summer camp where 750 people were staying.
Who said what
The wait for news has been “agonizing” for Camp Mystic’s “tight-knit community of parents and alumni,” The New York Times said. Many of the campers have emerged with “harrowing but piecemeal stories of the torrential rains.” Some spoke of being woken in the night and having to “wade through rushing water” to higher ground. Authorities Monday morning said 10 campers and a counselor were still missing.
President Donald Trump, who Sunday signed a major disaster declaration to unlock federal aid for those affected, said the families were “enduring an unimaginable tragedy.”
As the search continues, the “scale of the disaster” has led to questions about “whether more could have been done to warn people in the path of the floodwaters,” The Texas Tribune said. In recent years, Texas has been “at the epicenter” of extreme weather disasters exacerbated by above-average ocean temperatures and moist air, “two results of global warming,” said Bloomberg.
What next?
Flood watches remain in effect throughout the region, with slow-moving thunderstorms expected to bring another 3 to 4 inches of rain.
A total of 82 people are confirmed dead, including 28 children
