Texas floods latest: At least 104 dead as search for victims continues amid new weather warnings

Rescue teams from far and wide are assisting Texas in the aftermath of deadly flooding late last week.

Crews from Florida, Pennsylvania, and even Mexico have been sent to join in the response effort.

As first responders work to rescue the living and recover the dead from last week’s flooding in central Texas, officials and experts are scrutinizing whether more could’ve been done to warn the public about the Friday floods, potentially averting some of the more than 100 deaths that followed.

A review from NBC Dallas-Fort Worth found that National Weather Service alerts went out about the coming floods in Kerr County on Thursday, about 12 hours before the floods actually hit.

“The National Weather Service office did everything they should do from everything I can tell,” Jeff Masters, a former hurricane scientist with the NOAA Hurricane Hunters, told USA Today.

Nonetheless, the county lacks weather sirens, and making matters worse, a lack of cell phone coverage and weather radios in the area may have further prevented such warnings from reaching residents.

What’s more, numerous summer camps are in the area, some of which don’t allow children to carry cell phones.

Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick said on Monday that flood-warning sirens could’ve saved lives in communities near the swollen Guadalupe River, and promised the state will “step up” and help pay for such infrastructure to be in place by next summer.

The estimated death toll from last week’s flooding in central Texas was revised upwards again on Monday evening.

At least 104 died in the disaster, the Associated Press reports, citing new data from Kerr County officials.

The county is home to at least 84 of the total fatalities, including 28 children who died in the floods.

The Trump administration has declared the Texas floods a major disaster, freeing up additional resources for local first responders.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced the declaration during a press briefing on Monday.

Watch her comments below:

Residents of Kerr County, Texas, and other areas around the Guadalupe River, are picking up the pieces following deadly flooding that has killed at least 95 people since last week.

Search and rescue operations were still underway on Monday as authorities scoured the area for dozens of others who remain missing amid the resulting debris and floodwaters. Authorities would not give an official tally of those still unaccounted for, saying operations were ongoing and that they have received a number of fake reports.

At a press conference, city and county managers said donations have been pouring in from around the world to the Community Foundation. Anyone who wants to volunteer should contact the Kerrville Salvation Army and register.

“We need focused and coordinated volunteers. Not random people just showing up and doing what they do,” Mayor Joe Herring told reporters. “We need to work together.”

So, how can you aid flood victims? Here are some ways to help…

The camps in the idyllic Texas Hill Country, where children from the surrounding big cities of San Antonio, Austin and Fredericksburg came to fish, horseback ride, and snorkel, relied on a word-of-mouth system from camps further up river when it came to flooding, according to The New York Times.

It brought the dangers of flash flooding front of mind for officials in Kerr County who debated at local meetings whether to bolster their flood emergency system with weather sirens now used by other cities.

Julia Musto has the story.

Maps revealed that nearby Kerr County was disproportionately impacted, with authorities announcing in a Monday press conference that 75 people had been killed, including 48 adults and 27 children.

More details in our full map analysis from Julia Musto and Alicja Hagopian.

Forecasters are warning that parts of central Texas remain at risk of flash flooding and heavy rans throughout Monday.

“Rainfall rates will be very intense in the heaviest showers and storms,” the forecaster wrote in a statement on Monday. “Any additional heavy rainfall over hardest hit areas of the past few days will lead to rapid runoff and flash flooding.”

The death toll from the Texas floods is now 95, as rescuers continue to search the central part of the state for survivors.

The toll climbed to 95 on Monday afternoon with the announcement of a fourth death in Burnett County, CNN reports.