Officials in a Texas hill country town, which was struck by deadly flooding on July 4, announced Saturday that the number of missing persons has significantly dropped to just three, from almost 100 initially missing.
AUSTIN, Texas — As the search for victims continues into its third week, officials in Texas Hill Country report only three people remain missing. Lawmakers are also preparing to review the initial response by authorities and discuss the implementation of improved warning systems.
Flash flooding resulted in at least 135 fatalities in Texas over the Fourth of July weekend, predominantly occurring along the Guadalupe River in Kerr County, roughly 60 miles (100 kilometers) northwest of San Antonio. The region is susceptible to flash floods due to its dry, dense soil, which struggles to absorb heavy rainfalls.
The Texas Legislature is scheduled to convene Monday for a special session. Gov. Greg Abbott initially called lawmakers back to the Texas State Capitol in Austin for other reasons, but he and legislative leaders have added flooding-related issues to the agenda.
How many people remain missing?
State officials had been saying about 160 people were unaccounted for after the flooding in Kerr County alone, but now they say just three people remain missing, down from nearly 100, after people who had previously been reported missing have since been accounted for.
Kerr County officials said the number of missing people decreased as victims were recovered, contact was made with people who were found safe, and some reports were found to be unsubstantiated or falsified. Also, they said, the missing list fluctuates as reports come into a hotline.
The floods laid waste to the Hill Country. Vacation cabins, youth camps campgrounds fill the riverbanks and hills of Kerr County, and Camp Mystic, a century-old Christian summer camp for girls in a low-lying area along the Guadalupe. At least 27 of its campers and counselors died.
The flooding expands lawmakers’ agenda
Abbott called the special session hoping legislators would pass a measure to regulate a booming business in THC products after he vetoed a bill that would have banned them. And since the flooding, President Donald Trump has told the Republicans who control state government to redraw congressional districts to help the GOP’s chances of retaining a U.S. House majority in next year’s midterm elections.
Abbott said lawmakers would also review authorities’ handling of the flooding and consider improving warning systems for Hill Country residents. Kerr County does not have a warning system because state and local agencies missed opportunities over the past decade to finance one.
Trump and Abbott have pushed back aggressively against questions about how well local authorities responded to forecasts of heavy rain and the first reports of flash flooding. The president called a reporter “evil” for raising such issues and said he thought “everyone did an incredible job under the circumstances.” Abbott dismissed a question about who was to blame for the deaths as “the word choice of losers” and used an analogy that began: “Every football team makes mistakes.”
“The way winners talk is not to point fingers,” he concluded.
Lawmakers plan to visit the hardest-hit county
Abbott has designated bills dealing with early warning systems and emergency communications as priorities for the Legislature’s special session, scheduled to last 30 days.
The House and Senate have formed special committees on flooding and disaster preparedness, and they’re planning a July 31 visit to Kerrville, the seat of hardest-hit Kerr County, to hear comments from residents.
The committees are scheduled to begin with a joint hearing Wednesday to consider the state’s response to the fatal floods; planning for floods; infrastructure for managing floods; and communications among first responders.
One bill already introduced by Republican Rep. Don McLaughlin would require the state’s top public health official to set building standards for youth camps in 100-year floodplains — which FEMA defines as a high-risk area with a 1% chance of flooding in any given year.
During a recent news conference, Republican state Rep. Drew Darby, a member of the House’s committee, said lawmakers cannot bring back flood victims or undo the flooding.
“But what we can do is learn from it,” he said.
Hanna reported from Topeka, Kansas. Associated Press writers Jamie Stengle in Dallas and Jim Vertuno in Austin contributed.
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