Death Toll Rises, Search and Rescue Underway Amidst Concerns

The death toll from severe flooding in Texas reached at least 78 by Sunday, including at least 28 children. Search efforts continued for missing girls from a summer camp, and fears of further flooding prompted evacuations of volunteer responders.

Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha reported 68 fatalities in his county, the area most affected by the flooding, with 28 of the deceased being children. Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced at a press conference that an additional 10 deaths occurred elsewhere in Texas and confirmed 41 people were still missing.

President Donald Trump expressed his condolences to the victims and indicated he might visit the area on Friday. He stated his administration was in contact with Governor Abbott. He described the situation as "horrible" and offered his prayers to those affected.

The Camp Mystic summer camp, a long-standing Christian girls' camp, suffered significant damage. Ten campers and one counselor remained missing, according to Sheriff Leitha. Governor Abbott, who toured the area, described the experience as "horrific" and pledged continued efforts to locate the missing.

The flooding was triggered by the Guadalupe River overflowing its banks after heavy rainfall in central Texas on Friday, the US Independence Day holiday. The Texas Division of Emergency Management Chief Nim Kidd reported deaths in Burnet, Tom Green, Travis, and Williamson counties. Officials anticipated the death toll to rise further.

More than 850 people were rescued, including some who had sought refuge in trees, after a sudden storm dropped a significant amount of rain across the region, located northwest of San Antonio. Officials were receiving unconfirmed reports of additional flooding in the Guadalupe River watershed, as rain continued to fall on already saturated ground.

Emergency responders were evacuating parts of the river due to concerns about more flooding. The Federal Emergency Management Agency was activated and deploying resources to Texas after President Trump issued a major disaster declaration. US Coast Guard helicopters and planes were assisting in search and rescue operations.

Some experts raised questions about whether cuts to the federal workforce, including within the agency that oversees the National Weather Service, contributed to a failure to accurately predict the severity of the floods and issue timely warnings.

Former NOAA director Rick Spinrad suggested that staff cuts could degrade the agency's ability to provide accurate forecasts. President Trump, when questioned about federal government cuts impacting the disaster response, attributed the situation to a "100-year catastrophe" and declined to comment further on FEMA's involvement.