At least 32 people are dead in Texas floods as the search continues for people still missing

Environment·floodingDesperate for two dozen missing girls from summer camp after Texas floods kill at least 24BY John SeewerBY Jim VertunoBY The Associated PressBY John SeewerBY Jim VertunoSEE MOREA man surveys debris along the Guadalupe River after a flash flood struck the area Friday in Kerrville, Texas

Eric Gay—AP PhotoCrews ed through the dark early Saturday for two dozen children from a girls’ camp and many others who were still missing after a wall of water rushed down a river in the Texas Hill Country during a powerful storm that killed at least 24 people

The death toll was certain to rise

The destructive fast-moving waters along the Guadalupe River rose 26 feet (8 meters) in just 45 minutes before dawn Friday, washing away s and vehicles

The danger was not over as more heavy rains were expected Saturday and flash flood warnings and watches remained in effect for parts of central Texas

Authorities are coming under increasing scrutiny over whether the camp and others in the area received per warning and whether enough preparations were made

Ers used helicopters, boats and drones to look for victims and to rescue stranded people

The total number of missing was not known but one sheriff said 24 of them were girls who had been attending Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp along the river

Frantic parents and families posted photos of missing loved ones and pleas for information. “The camp was completely destroyed,” said Elinor Lester, 13, one of hundreds of campers at Camp Mystic. “A helicopter landed and started taking people away

It was really scary. ” A raging storm woke up her cabin just after midnight Friday, and when rescuers arrived, they tied a rope for the girls to hold as they walked across a bridge with floodwaters whipping around their legs, she said

At a news conference late Friday, Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said 24 people were confirmed dead, including some children

Authorities said 240 people had been rescued

The flooding in the middle of the night on the Fourth of July holiday caught many residents, campers and officials by surprise

The Texas Hill Country, which sits northwest of San Antonio, is a destination for camping and swimming, especially around the summertime holiday

AccuWeather said the private forecasting company and the National Weather Service sent warnings potential flash flooding hours before the devastation. “These warnings should have vided officials with ample time to evacuate camps such as Camp Mystic and get people to safety,” AccuWeather said in a statement that called the Texas Hill County one of the most flash-flood-ne areas of the U

Because of its terrain and many water crossings

Officials def their actions Friday while saying they had not expected such an intense downpour that was the equivalent of months’ worth of rain for the area

One National Weather Service forecast earlier in the week had called for up to six inches (152 millimeters) of rain, said Nim Kidd, chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management. “It did not predict the amount of rain that we saw,” he said

Helicopters, drones used in frantic for missing A river gauge near Camp Mystic recorded a 22 foot rise (6. 7 meters) in two hours, said Bob Fogarty, meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Austin/San Antonio office

The gauge failed after recording a level of 29 and a half feet (9 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 said

Rescue teams, helicopters and drones were being used, with some people being plucked from trees

Coast Guard helicopters were flying in to assist. ‘Pitch black wall of death’ In Ingram, Erin Burgess woke to thunder and rain in the middle of the night Friday

Just 20 minutes later, water was pouring into her from the river, she said

She described an agonizing hour clinging to a tree with her teenage son and waiting for the water to recede enough to walk up the hill to safety. “Thankfully he’s over 6 feet tall

That’s the only thing that d me, was hanging on to him,” she said. “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 found them,” she said

Matthew Stone, 44, of Kerrville, said police came knocking on doors but that he had received no warning on his phone. “We got no emergency alert

There was nothing,” Stone said

Then “a pitch black wall of death. ” ‘I was scared to death’ At a reunification center in Ingram, families cried and cheered as loved ones got off rescue vehicles

Two soldiers carried an older woman who could not get down a ladder

Behind her, a woman clutched a small white dog

Later, a girl in a white “Camp Mystic” T-shirt and white socks stood in a puddle, sobbing in her mother’s arms

Barry Adelman said water pushed everyone in his three-story house into the attic, including his 94-year-old grandmother and 9-year-old grandson

Water started coming through the attic floor before receding. “I was horrified,” he said. “I was having to look at my grandson in the face and tell him everything was going to be OK, but inside I was scared to death. ” ‘No one knew this kind of flood was coming’ The forecast for the weekend had called for rain, with a flood watch upgraded to a warning overnight Friday for at least 30,000 people

Dan Patrick said the potential 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 said. “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. ” Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly, the county’s chief elected official, said: “We do not have a warning system. ” When pushed on why more precautions weren’t taken, Kelly said no one knew this kind of flood was coming

More pockets of heavy rains expected The slow-moving storm stuck over central Texas is expected to bring more rain Saturday, with the potential for pockets of heavy downpours and more flooding, said Jason Runyen, of the National Weather Service

The threat could linger overnight and into Sunday morning, he said

Tourism area ne to flooding The area is known as “flash flood alley” because of the hills’ thin layer of soil, said Austin Dickson, CEO of the Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country, which was collecting donations to help nonfits responding to the disaster. “When it rains, water doesn’t soak into the soil,” Dickson said. “It rushes down the hill. ” River tourism industry is a key part of the Hill Country economy

Well-known, century-old summer camps bring in kids from all over the country, Dickson said. “It’s generally a very tranquil river with really beautiful blue water that people have been attracted to for generations,” Dickson said

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