Texas officials reported 13 fatalities and 20 missing children amid ongoing flood rescue operations on Friday.
Texas Hill Country was beset by death and disaster Friday after multiple fatalities were reported from months worth of heavy rain that fell in a matter of hours, leaving search teams to conduct boat and helicopter rescues in the fast-moving water that overtook riverfront communities and children's summer camps.
As much as 10 inches (25 centimeters) of heavy rain poured down in just a few hours overnight in central Kerr County, causing flash flooding of the Guadalupe River and leading to desperate pleas for information from people with relatives nearby.
Teams conducted dozens of rescues, and the emergency response continued as an unknown number of people remained unaccounted for.
Comments on a Facebook post from the Kerr County sheriff's office were riddled with photos of people in the flood zone. Loved ones posted there, hoping someone could offer an update on the whereabouts of those who hadn't been heard from. One woman said she couldn't reach her daughter, who had rented a cabin in Hunt for her husband and two children, and pleaded for someone to post the names of those already evacuated.
Judge Rob Kelly, the chief elected official in the county, confirmed fatalities from the flooding and dozens of water rescues so far. He said he was advised not to cite specific numbers and said authorities are still working to identify those whose lives were lost.
