Death toll in Texas floods climbs to 108, with more rain expected

Hundreds of rescuers on Tuesday continued their search for people swept away by catastrophic Texas floods that killed more than 100 people, officials said, amid threats of more heavy rain.

As of Tuesday morning, authorities in worst-hit Kerr County had recovered the bodies of 87 victims, Sheriff Larry Leitha told reporters.

The deceased include at least 27 girls and counselors who were staying at a youth summer camp on the Guadalupe River over the Fourth of July holiday weekend.

“At present, five Camp Mystic campers and one counselor still remain unaccounted for,” Leitha added.

At least 108 flood-related deaths were reported across central Texas, according to local officials.

During a Cabinet meeting, President Donald Trump said he would travel to Texas with First Lady Melania Trump on Friday, and credited his strong ties with the state’s Republican governor as having helped the rescue effort.

“We brought in a lot of helicopters from all over… They were real pros, and they were responsible for pulling out a lot of people. And we got them there fast, and Texas had some good ones too, but the response has been incredible,” Trump said.

Trump, who previously said that disaster relief should be handled at the state level, earlier this week signed a major disaster declaration, activating fresh federal funds and freeing up resources.

Extremely treacherous

Ben Baker with the Texas Game Wardens said search and rescue efforts involving helicopters, drones and dogs were extremely difficult because of the water and mud.

“When we’re trying to make these recoveries, these large piles can be very obstructive, and to get in deep into these piles, it’s very hazardous,” Baker said.

“It’s extremely treacherous, time-consuming. It’s dirty work, the water is still there.”

He added that special attention was being paid to the first responders’ mental state, particularly given that the bodies of children were being recovered.

In the town of Hunt, the epicenter of the disaster, an AFP team saw recovery workers combing through piles of debris with helicopters flying overhead, as hopes dimmed for finding any survivors.

Javier Torres, 24, was digging through mud as he searched for the body of his grandmother, after having located the remains of his grandfather.

He also discovered the bodies of two children, apparently washed up by the river.

Officials warned that with more heavy rain forecast, recovery efforts would be rendered even more difficult.

“We’ve had some reports of maybe some additional water coming in, obviously, that’s going to impact the search and recovery efforts,” said Baker.

He said the weather may impact aerial patrol patterns, but “it won’t deter them.”

Meanwhile, questions intensified over whether Trump’s funding cuts had weakened warning systems, and over the handling of the rescue operation.

During an at-times tense news conference, Baker skirted a question on the speed of the emergency response.

“Right now, this team up here is focused on bringing people home,” he said.

Shel Winkley, a weather expert at the Climate Central research group, blamed the extent of the disaster on geography, the remnants of tropical storm Beryl, and exceptional drought, when dry soil absorbs less rainfall.

“This part of Texas, at least in the Kerr County flood specifically, was in an extreme to exceptional drought. So that’s the worst drought conditions that you can have, and we know that since May, temperatures have been above average,” Winkley told reporters.

The organization’s media director, Tom Di Liberto, said staffing shortages at the National Weather Service had contributed to the disaster.

“What happens, and this is shared not only in Texas but weather forecast offices across the country, is that the people with the most experience dealing with these extreme (events), but also communicating it, have left in a lot of places, so you can’t necessarily replace that experience,” Di Liberto said.