Catastrophic flooding leaves at least 24 dead, dozens missing in central Texas

In Kerr County, 24 people are dead and dozens more are unaccounted for as search and rescue continues following deadly flooding. FOX Weather Meteorologist is live in Kerrville with the latest. 

KERRVILLE, Texas — Scenes of devastation stretched along Texas’ Guadalupe River Saturday morning, the day after a “deadly flood wave” pushed a 20-foot surge of water several miles down the river, leaving at least 24 dead and dozens more still missing, including several girls from a summer camp.

And local officials said the death toll is expected to rise in the coming days.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott declared a disaster declaration for more than a dozen counties in the Texas Hill Country.

Heavy rainfall led to flash flooding throughout the south-central Texas town of Kerrville on Friday morning. Local reports say rescuers were called to assist people stranded on rooftops and to investigate a home swept away by the swollen river.

According to Texas authorities, nearly 300 people have been rescued, but the exact number of those needing help is unknown because of the many parks and recreational areas along the Guadalupe River and water levels are still running high.

“This is a catastrophic flooding event in Kerr County,” the Kerr County Sheriff’s Office said.

Among those still missing are 23-25 children who were attending a summer camp. A letter to parents from Camp Mystic, a private Christian summer camp for girls located 18 miles from Kerrvile in Hunt, said they had experienced “catastrophic level” floods. While two of the groups have been fully accounted for, the letter stated “if your daughter is not accounted for, you have been notified.”

Abbott says the state has deployed more than 1,000 state responders and more than 800 vehicles and equipment, and more than 15 state agencies are currently responding to the flooding threat across the state.

‘We didn’t know the flood was coming’

Those along the river had little indication of the upcoming destruction or much time to act. A cluster of thunderstorms sat parked over the region Thursday night into early Friday morning, dumping 12-15 inches of rain in just hours around San Angelo and triggering a Flash Flood Emergency.

Torrential rains caused the Guadalupe River in Kerrville, Texas, to surge on Friday morning, carrying away cars and other debris downstream.

Heavy rains crawled to the south and east, eventually pouring 5-8 inches of rain across the Guadelupe River basin, sending torrents of water downstream.

“Automated rain gauges indicate a large and deadly flood wave is moving down the Guadalupe River,” the National Weather Service (NWS) warned in issuing their Flash Flood Emergency Friday morning. “Flash flooding is already occurring. This is a Flash Flood Emergency for the Guadalupe River from Center Point to Sisterdale. This is a particularly dangerous situation. Seek higher ground now!”

WHAT FLOOD WATCHES, FLOOD WARNINGS AND FLASH FLOOD EMERGENCIES MEAN

River gauges showed incredible rises in water levels along the Guadalupe. The surge measured 20 feet in just an hour at Kerrville and nearly 27 feet in Comfort, Texas in just 45 minutes, taking the river from normal levels to historic levels not seen in nearly a century before many had time to react.

Historic rain slammed the city of Kerrville, Texas, Friday morning. Footage shot from a bridge overlooking the Guadalupe River, which runs through Kerrville, shows the river surging with floodwater . NOAA river gauges show the Guadalupe River was at nearly 30 feet.

“We didn’t know this flood was coming,” Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly said during a late Friday morning press conference. “Rest assured, no one knew this kind of flood was coming.”

The torrential rains led to damaging flooding in other nearby counties.  San Angelo in Tom Green County reported a 2-mile-wide area of town that had been “greatly affected” by catastrophic flooding. Their emergency dispatchers received over 100 calls for help and water rescues in just an hour early Friday morning.  The town of Brady in McCulloch County also reported numerous water rescues.

Slow-moving storm still wreaking havoc

While the rains subsided in Kerr County on Saturday morning, the storm is still dumping life-threatening amounts of rain in central Texas.

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Flash Flood Emergencies were in effect Saturday morning for parts of Burnet, Williamson and Travis Counties, just north of the Austin area. Another 5-12 inches of rain fell in the area overnight, with rain falling at rates of 3-6 inches per hour, the National Weather Service in Austin said. Another 2-5 inches of rain was likely on Saturday morning.

Much like Friday’s warnings, the NWS is urging people to seek higher ground as the storms present a “particularly dangerous situation.”

And slow-moving thunderstorms with heavy rains remain in the forecast for Central Texas Saturday. While the storms had drifted east on Saturday morning, there are some indications more thunderstorms could return to the hard-hit areas later Saturday, with some areas under threat of another 3 inches of rain or more.

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NOAA’s Weather Prediction Center has the area in a Level 2 out of 4 flash flood risk, and Flood Watches remain in effect in Central Texas into Saturday evening.

Worst flooding in the region in 38 years

The latest catastrophic event is similar to flash flooding that impacted the region more than 35 years ago.

Slow-moving thunderstorms in mid-July 1987 caused significant flooding along the Guadalupe River, which resulted in the deaths of around a dozen people, with dozens of others injured.

The crests of the Guadalupe River exceeded those levels on Friday.