Texas: Death toll from flooding rises to 70

(With information from AFP) Devastating floods in central Texas have already claimed 70 lives, including several children, according to authorities.

Meanwhile, emergency services continue to search for at least 30 people missing in several counties, including 11 campers and a counselor from Camp Mystic.

Kerr County hardest hit

Most of the bodies were found in Kerr County, where 59 fatalities have been counted. In Travis County, four people died and 13 are missing, according to the director of the public information office, Hector Nieto. Three people died in Burnet County, while two died in Kendall County, and one in Williamson County. The body of a 62-year-old woman was found in Tom Green County, police said.

Of the approximately 750 girls attending a Christian summer camp on the banks of the Guadalupe River, 27 are missing, said Dalton Rice, Kerrville city leader.

Search and deployment of resources

Federal, state, and local authorities have implemented a coordinated plan to search for the missing and recover the bodies of the victims.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem traveled to Texas to coordinate closely with Governor Greg Abbott. Authorities have deployed all available resources.

"Our hearts are with those impacted by the Central Texas floods. I thank Gov. Abbott, state officials, and the U.S. Coast Guard for their swift, heroic response. President Trump is committed to deploying all federal resources to unify families, rescue the missing, and return recovered loved ones promptly," Noem said after holding a first meeting with Abbott.

"I visited Camp Mystic. It, and the river running beside it, were horrendously ravaged in ways unlike I’ve seen in any natural disaster. The height the rushing water reached to the top of cabins was shocking. We won’t stop until we find every girl who was in those cabins," said Abbott.

Guadalupe River overflowed in minutes

Heavy rainfall reportedly caused the Guadalupe River’s flow to triple within minutes, triggering a violent overflow that swept away everything in its path.

Risk of further flooding

Governor Abbott warned that heavy rains forecast for the next 24 to 48 hours in the Concho Valley and near Kerrville could cause further flash flooding, noting that the area is already saturated with water.