Death toll from Texas floods rises to 82, dozens still missing

The decease toll from the catastrophic floods that deed the authorities of Texas successful the United States has risen to 82, arsenic the hunt for the missing continues and officials look questions implicit a nonaccomplishment to evacuate radical successful hard-hit Kerr County.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott said connected Sunday that astatine slightest 41 radical stay unaccounted for crossed the confederate state, 3 days aft the deluge, and that much could beryllium missing.

He promised authorities volition proceed to enactment astir the timepiece to find the missing, and warned that further rounds of dense rains lasting into Tuesday could nutrient much life-threatening flooding.

In Kerr County, Sheriff Larry Leitha said connected Sunday that searchers person recovered the bodies of 68 people, including 28 children, galore of whom went missing from Camp Mystic, a Christian summertime campy for girls.

Leitha said 10 much girls and a counsellor stay missing and pledged to support searching until “everybody is found”.

President Donald Trump sent his condolences to the victims and said helium would astir apt sojourn the country connected Friday. His medication had been successful interaction with Abbott, helium added.

“It’s a horrible happening that took place, perfectly horrible. So we say, ‘God bless each of the radical that person gone done truthful much, and God bless… God bless the authorities of Texas’,” helium told reporters arsenic helium near New Jersey.

The flooding occurred aft the adjacent Guadalupe River broke its banks aft torrential rainfall fell successful the cardinal Texas country connected Friday, the US Independence Day holiday.

Texas Division of Emergency Management Chief Nim Kidd said the demolition killed 3 radical successful Burnet County, 1 successful Tom Green County, 5 successful Travis County and 1 successful Williamson County.

Kidd said rescuers were evacuating radical from much places on the river, “because we are disquieted astir different partition of stream coming down successful those areas”, with rainfall continuing to autumn connected ungraded successful the portion already saturated from Friday’s rains.

Questions implicit preparedness

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was activated connected Sunday and is deploying resources to archetypal responders successful Texas aft Trump issued a large catastrophe declaration, the Department of Homeland Security said.

US coastguard helicopters and planes were aiding hunt and rescue efforts.

Freeman Martin, the manager of the Texas Department of Public Safety, said connected Sunday that helium expected to “see the decease toll emergence contiguous and tomorrow”.

Authorities, meanwhile, person faced increasing questions astir whether capable warnings were issued successful an country agelong susceptible to flooding, and whether capable preparations were made.

Al Jazeera’s Shihab Rattansi, reporting from cardinal Texas, said respective communities on the Guadalupe River were evacuated aft the National Weather Service sent retired repeated warnings astir the rising h2o levels, but not those successful Kerr County.

“There are inactive nary answers arsenic to wherefore those present weren’t alerted,” helium said.

Rattansi said portion Trump has activated FEMA assistance for Texas, the president had “made it wide successful the past that helium wants to signifier retired specified aid, adjacent erstwhile saying that if a authorities politician needs to inquire for national exigency help, possibly they’re not up to the job”.

Trump, erstwhile asked by reporters whether helium was inactive readying to signifier retired FEMA, said that it was thing “we tin speech astir later, but close now, we are engaged working”.

Rattansi besides said that the Trump medication is phasing retired “research and investigation of the changing clime due to the fact that it feels it’s politicised and divisive”, adjacent though “it’s precisely that benignant of investigation that led to the warnings from the National Weather Service to municipal authorities to evacuate residents up and down the Guadalupe River”.

“Climate scientists person agelong warned that warmer aerial volition clasp much moisture and effect successful ever much aggravated storms,” helium said. “Yet conscionable arsenic their predictions are being realised, national resources to predict, mitigate and negociate utmost upwind events are astatine hazard arsenic ne'er before.”

Rick Spinrad, a erstwhile manager astatine the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), told Al Jazeera that little probe volition pb to little close predictions, making it harder for radical to prepare.

“Without research, without unit to bash the work, we tin presume that the predictions, [for] hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, drought, wildfires, tsunamis, for that matter, are undoubtedly going to degrade, and that means that people’s quality to hole for these storms volition beryllium compromised,” Spinrad said.

In February, the Trump medication announced cuts affecting the jobs of hundreds of unit astatine NOAA, including meteorologists astatine the National Weather Service.

Abbott, the Texas governor, declared Sunday a time of supplication for the state.

“I impulse each Texan to articulation maine successful supplication this Sunday – for the lives lost, for those inactive missing, for the betterment of our communities, and for the information of those connected the beforehand lines,” helium said successful a statement.

In Rome, Pope Leo XIV besides offered peculiar prayers for those affected by the disaster.

“I would similar to explicit sincere condolences to each the families who person mislaid loved ones, successful peculiar their daughters who were successful summertime camp, successful the catastrophe caused by the flooding of the Guadalupe River successful Texas successful the United States. We commune for them.”