At least 13 dead in Texas floods and more than 20 children missing from a girls summer camp

KERRVILLE Texas AP Months worth of heavy rain fell in a matter of hours on Texas Hill Country leaving at least people dead and a multitude of more unaccounted for Friday including about girls attending a summer camp as search teams conducted boat and helicopter rescues in fast-moving floodwaters Desperate pleas peppered social media as loved ones sought any information about people caught in the flood zone At least inches centimeters of rain poured down overnight in central Kerr County causing flash flooding of the Guadalupe River Agents stressed that the situation was still advancing and that the death toll could change with rescue operations ongoing for an unspecified number missing Lt Gov Dan Patrick noted six to bodies had been discovered so far Around the same time Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha informed that people had died in the flooding Specific are adults selected are children Patrick explained during a news conference Again we don t know where those bodies came from Judge Rob Kelly the chief elected official in Kerr County declared agents were still working to identify those who died Bulk of them we don t know who they are Kelly declared during a news conference Pleading for information after flash flood On the Kerr County sheriff s office Facebook page people pleaded for help finding loved ones and posted pictures of them Patrick stated at least people were on the ground helping in the response Nine rescue teams helicopters and drones were being used in the search and Patrick explained a few people were being rescued from trees About of the roughly girls attending Camp Mystic were among those who were unaccounted for Patrick revealed Search crews were doing whatever we can do to find everyone we can he stated At Hunt where the Guadalupe forks a river gauge recorded a foot rise meters in about two hours according to Bob Fogarty meteorologist with the National Weather Institution s Austin San Antonio office Fogarty commented the gauge failed after recording a level of and a half feet meters The water s moving so fast you re not going to recognize how bad it is until it s on top of you Fogarty commented Pitch black wall of death In Ingram Erin Burgess woke to thunder and rain at a m Just minutes later water was pouring into her home directly across from the river she revealed She described an agonizing hour clinging to a tree and waiting for the water to recede enough so they could walk up the hill to a neighbor s home My son and I floated to a tree where we hung onto it and my boyfriend and my dog floated away He was lost for a while but we determined them she commented Of her -year-old son Burgess stated Thankfully he s over feet tall That s the only thing that saved me was hanging on to him Matthew Stone of Kerrville commented police came knocking on doors at a m but that he had received no warning on his phone We got no emergency alert There was nothing Stone commented Then a pitch black wall of death Stone explained police used his paddle boat to help rescue a neighbor Stone revealed he and the rescuers thought they heard someone yelling help from the water but couldn t see anyone At a reunification center set up in Ingram families cried and cheered as loved ones got off vehicles loaded with evacuees Two soldiers carried an older woman who could not get down a ladder Behind her a woman in a soiled T-shirt and shorts clutched a small white dog Later a girl in a white Camp Mystic T-shirt arrived Standing in white socks in a puddle she sobbed in her mother s arms No one knew this kind of flood was coming The forecast had called for rain with a flood watch upgraded to a warning overnight for at least people But totals in various places exceeded expectations Fogarty stated Patrick noted that the possible for heavy rain and flooding covered a large area Everything was done to give them a heads up that you could have heavy rain and we re not exactly sure where it s going to land Patrick stated Obviously as it got dark last night we got into the wee morning of the hours that s when the storm started to zero in Required about how people were notified in Kerr County so that they could get to safety Kelly disclosed We do not have a warning system When reporters pushed on why more precautions weren t taken he responded Rest assured no one knew this kind of flood was coming We have floods all the time he added This is the the majority dangerous river valley in the United States Popular tourism area prone to flooding It s in an area of Texas known as flash flood alley because of the hills thin layer of soil commented Austin Dickson CEO of the District Foundation of the Texas Hill Country which was collecting donations to help nonprofits responding to the mishap When it rains water doesn t soak into the soil Dickson mentioned It rushes down the hill River tourism industry is a key part of the Hill Country commercial sector disclosed Dickson Well-known century-old summer camps bring in kids from all over the country he noted Between Hunt and Ingram are multiple river homes and cabins for rent It s generally a very tranquil river with really beautiful clear blue water that people have been attracted to for generations Dickson commented Deaths in New Jersey blamed on thunderstorms The flooding in Texas occurred as severe weather moved through central New Jersey where thunderstorms were blamed for at least three deaths Among them were two men in Plainfield who died after a tree fell onto their bicycle according to a city Facebook post The city canceled its July Fourth parade concert and fireworks show Fingerhut shared from Des Moines Iowa Associated Press reporters Adrian Sanz in Memphis Tennessee Hannah Schoenbaum in Salt Lake City John O Connor in Springfield Illinois and Susan Haigh in Norwich Connecticut also contributed Source