Texas, flood and Kerr County
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Follow for live updates in the Texas flooding as the death toll rises to 120, as rescue operations start to shift to recovery phase
KERRVILLE, Texas (AP) — Over the last decade, an array of Texas state and local agencies missed opportunities to fund a flood warning system intended to avert a disaster like the one that killed dozens of young campers and scores of others in Kerr County on the Fourth of July.
A major flood event also struck the Texas Hill Country in July of 1987 after a series of 17 thunderstorms moved slowly, in succession, over the headwaters of the Guadalupe River in Kerr County. Anywhere from 5 to 10 inches of rain fell on the flood-prone areas, now deemed “Flash Flood Alley,” according to a National Weather Service report.
Also: San Antonio mourned the victims in a Travis Park vigil; UTSA said one of its teachers died in the Guadalupe River flood; Kerrville officials said a privately owned drone collided with a helicopter conducting search and rescue operations.
Newly released satellite images reveal catastrophic damage caused by the Hill Country floods along the Guadalupe River.
With more than 170 still missing, communities must reconcile how to pick up the pieces around a waterway that remains both a wellspring and a looming menace.
The most powerful thing that I can do, is come up here and intercede with prayer for these families, that are hurting beyond what anyone can ever imagine."
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott compared those asking who was to blame for the deadly flood in Kerr County last weekend to a losing football team. During a press conference Tuesday afternoon in which Abbott said 110 people were confirmed dead and 161 were still missing,