Heavy overnight rain caused devastating flash flooding in central Texas, killing at least 13 people and leaving over 20 children missing along the Guadalupe River, state and local officials said in updated reports.
Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick told a media briefing on Friday that "around 23" children at Camp Mystic—a private Christian girls' summer camp along the river—were still unaccounted for. The camp has around 750 visitors, said Xinhua news agency.
In the huge search-and-rescue mission, more than 500 personnel, 14 helicopters, and 12 drones have been used to search the immediate area. Authorities were able to rescue several adults and children who had sought safety in trees as the waters rose.
Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha confirmed 13 people have been killed in the area and that additional deaths are possible as search efforts remain ongoing. "We are still actively working to locate those out and those in need of assistance," Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice added at the same briefing.
The flooding turned fatal in the wee hours of Friday. About 4 a.m. local time (0900 GMT), the National Weather Service escalated its flash flood warning, allowing emergency wireless alerts to be pushed to smartphones within the affected region, NBC News said. The agency additionally released a stark warning that a "large and deadly flood wave" was racing down the Guadalupe River.
In Kerr County, the river surged from a calm 7.5 feet (2.3 meters) to nearly 30 feet overnight. Forecasts project it could crest at 34 feet in the Spring Branch region by Friday afternoon. The dramatic rise in water levels swept away cars, mobile homes, and RVs, as seen in widely circulated online footage.
Governor Greg Abbott tweeted about the situation, saying the state was "surging all available resources" to the disaster relief. "The priority right now is saving lives," he emphasized.
Over 500,000 residents across central Texas were still under flash flood warnings as of Friday afternoon, and emergency services were urging caution and cooperation.
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