Gov. Greg Abbott vows to find "every missing person" as death toll in Central Texas floods tops 100
As search efforts entered their fifth day in the devastating Central Texas floods, Gov. Greg Abbott vowed to find "every single missing person," stressing that the mission will not end until all victims are accounted for amid a death toll that has surpassed 100.
"We are not leaving until this job is finished," Abbott said. "The primary job right now continues to be locating everybody who was affected by this flood. We have to find every single person who's missing; that's job number one."
Abbott took an aerial tour over the flood damage on Tuesday, surveilling miles and miles of damage for a "fuller perspective" to assess the community's needs.
Rescuers search Guadalupe River as heartbreak deepens in Texas
At least 110 people are confirmed dead and dozens are still unaccounted for amid ongoing rescue efforts along the swollen Guadalupe River. Abbott said that already, more people have died in this flooding disaster than did during Hurricane Harvey.
Kerr County, in Texas' flood-prone Hill Country region, has suffered the highest death toll with 87 people confirmed dead, Abbott said. In other parts of Texas, 15 people have been confirmed dead; 161 people are known missing from Kerr County, and 12 are missing from other parts of the state.
Five Camp Mystic campers are still missing, along with one counselor.
"Nothing is as heart-wrenching as hearing the stories of the girls, especially what the girls at Camp Mystic went through," Abbott said. "To see where they lived in one moment, where they disappeared the next moment. They were gone forever a few moments after that."
Hundreds of rescuers, including teams from local, state and federal agencies, as well as volunteers, are involved in the search, said Texas Game Warden Ben Baker at a Tuesday news conference.
Friday marked the last time a missing person was found alive in Kerr County, though search crews continue to survey the Guadalupe River, searching for others lost in the region's devastating floods. The river, stretching 230 miles between Austin and San Antonio, is known as "flash flood alley" due to its terrain's vulnerability to sudden inundation.
"The hearts of our fellow Texans are breaking every single day because of what the people in this community are going through," Abbott said.
Federal disaster declared for Texas after Guadalupe River's rapid rise to 26 feet
During the early hours of Friday morning, the Guadalupe River in Hunt rose to about 26 feet — roughly the height of a two-story building — over the course of 45 minutes, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said at a news conference Friday.
President Trump has declared a federal disaster, enabling FEMA assistance as storm conditions challenge recovery operations, which officials say are expected to improve soon.
Abbott said the current and future needs of Central Texas will be addressed at the special session that begins July 21.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said the state wants to place an early warning system of outdoor warning sirens along the Guadalupe River by next summer. Kerr County does not have sirens and their leaders have said the cost to buy and implement them is the reason they don't.
"Those issues are going to be on the agenda for the state to address," Abbott said. "From top to bottom, we want to make sure when we end that session, we end it by making sure these communities are better, more resilient and have the resources they need for the next chapter of their lives."
The governor rejected reporters' questions about who is to blame for the situation and the loss of life.
"The way winners talk is not to point fingers," he said. "They talk about solutions. What Texas is all about is solutions."
President Trump said Tuesday during his cabinet meeting that he and first lady Melania Trump will be visiting Central Texas on Friday. The President praised all the first responders.
To report those missing from the Central Texas floods, call 830-258-1111 or email kerrvillemissing@dps.texas.gov.
