3 persons are nonetheless lacking from lethal floods in Texas county, down from practically 100 : NPR

[ad_1] <img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/4374x2916+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F02%2Fbf%2F0351c25f467199367144a6d55199%2Fap25194643032793.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/4374x2916+0+0/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F02%2Fbf%2F0351c25f467199367144a6d55199%2Fap25194643032793.jpg" class="img" alt="Roberto Marquez places a cross at a memorial wall for flood victims, Sunday, July 13, 2025, in Kerrville, Texas." fetchpriority="high"/> Roberto Marquez locations a cross at a memorial wall for flood victims, Sunday, July 13, 2025, in Kerrville, Texas. Eric Homosexual/AP disguise caption

toggle caption

Eric Homosexual/AP KERRVILLE, Texas — Officers in a Texas hill nation neighborhood pummeled by lethal flooding July 4 mentioned Saturday that simply three individuals stay lacking, down from practically 100, after individuals who had beforehand been reported lacking have since been accounted for.

The discount within the variety of individuals on the lacking listing got here because the seek for victims entered its third week. It was a big drop from the greater than 160 individuals officers beforehand mentioned have been unaccounted for in Kerr County alone.

"This outstanding progress displays numerous hours of coordinated search and rescue operations, cautious investigative work, and an unwavering dedication to bringing readability and hope to households throughout an unimaginably troublesome time," Kerrville Metropolis Supervisor Dalton Rice in a press release.

The demise toll in Kerr County, 107, held regular for a lot of this week even because the intensive search continued.

The Flash floods killed at the very least 135 individuals in Texas over the vacation weekend, with most deaths alongside the Guadalupe River in Kerr County, about 60 miles (100 kilometers) northwest of San Antonio.

Simply earlier than dawn on July 4, the damaging, fast-moving waters rose 26 ft (8 meters) on the Guadalupe, washing away houses and autos.

The floods laid waste to the Hill Nation, a preferred vacationer vacation spot the place campers search out spots alongside the river amid the rolling panorama. It's naturally susceptible to flash flooding as a result of its dry, dirt-packed soil can not absorb heavy rain.

Trip cabins, youth camps campgrounds fill the riverbanks and hills of Kerr County, together with Camp Mystic, a century-old Christian summer season camp for ladies. Situated in a low-lying space of a area referred to as "flash flood alley," Camp Mystic misplaced at the very least 27 campers and counselors.

The flooding was way more extreme than the 100-year occasion envisioned by the Federal Emergency Administration Company, consultants mentioned, and it moved so shortly in the midst of the evening that it caught many off guard in a county that lacked a warning system.

In Kerrville, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) west of Austin, native officers have come below scrutiny over whether or not residents have been adequately warned concerning the rising waters.

President Donald Trump and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott have pushed again aggressively in opposition to questions on how nicely native authorities responded to forecasts of heavy rain and the primary reviews of flash flooding.

Crews have been trying to find victims utilizing helicopters, boats and drones. Earlier efforts have been hampered by rain forecasts, main some crews to carry off or cease due to worries about extra flooding.