- Death toll from the Texas floods has reached at least 119, including 36 children in Kerr County.
- Texas Gov. Greg Abbott reported that at least 173 people were still missing due to the floods.
- Texas flags have been ordered to fly at half-staff as a tribute to flood victims until July 14.
After floods devastated central Texas over the Fourth of July weekend, the death toll continues to rise and more than 170 people remain missing in the area.
Search-and-rescue operations continue to comb through the region as crews work to clean up the mountains of debris throughout the area.
Death toll rises to at least 119
As of Wednesday morning, the death toll from the central Texas floods has grown to at least 119.
Ninety-five of these confirmed deaths are in Kerr County. According to The New York Times, the death toll in Kerr County includes 36 children, “making the floods among the deadliest U.S. disasters for children in several decades.”
During a news conference on Wednesday where officials gave an updated death count, Kerrville Mayor Joe Herring Jr. got emotional.
“The recent numbers reported break my heart, and they break the heart of everyone up here, everyone who has been working since July the Fourth,” he said, according to NBC he was visibly shaken.
The deaths were spread over six counties including Kerr County. Eight died in Kendall County, seven in Travis County, five in Burnet County, three in Williamson County and one in Tom Green County, per The New York Times.
More than 170 people still missing in the devastated area
On Tuesday evening, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott shared that at least 173 people remained missing in the areas ravaged by the floods, reported The New York Times. This was the first time state officials noted how widespread the human toll might be.
Those missing include 161 people in Kerr County.
“It’s unclear how the list of the missing was assembled, and state officials did not answer inquiries about it on Tuesday night,” per The New York Times.
The number shared by the governor is higher than that shared by local officials and suggests that the death toll could more than double.
“The primary job right now continues to be locating everybody who was affected by this flood,” Abbott said, per The New York Times. “We will not stop until we identify, recover every single body.”
According to NBC, rescue crews continue to search through the region, but the chance of finding survivors grows slim.
Gov. Abbott orders flags at half-staff for flooding victims
On Wednesday morning, Abbott ordered that Texas flags be lowered to half-staff in honor of the victims of the devastating floods.
“Texas stands united in mourning and in our resolve to support those who strive to heal and recover,” the governor said in a news release, per CNN. “May God bring comfort to every family affected and strength to the thousands of first responders still working on the ground.”
The Texas flags will remain at half-staff until sunrise on July 14.
At confirmation hearing for NOAA head, Sen. Ted Cruz speaks about Texas flood victims
On Wednesday morning, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, spoke at the confirmation hearing for Neil Jacobs, who is nominated to head the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, per NBC.
In his opening remarks Cruz highlighted “the power of weather” following the deadly floods in his home state.
Cruz told the story of a Coast Guard swimmer who saved over a hundred girls at Camp Mystic, but for those who didn’t survive the senator added “Those little girls never heard the warning.”
According to NBC, he ended his remarks with a rhetorical question to the Senate committee, “What can be done to more effectively protect human lives?”
Kerr County residents have been asked to shelter in place
In a news conference on Wednesday, Kerr County officials asked residents to shelter in place to avoid areas of destruction, per NBC.
“Our first responders are trying to get to places to do their jobs, and people coming here from outside the community and people within the community who want to go sightsee and look at the river, see the flood damage, making our job very hard,” Jonathan Lamb with the Kerrville Police Department said, per NBC. “We ask folks to give us room to work.”
Residents were also asked not to sift through large debris piles without contacting the authorities first.
“We asked them not to use heavy equipment to take down those debris piles until they’ve been checked by a search party, because it’s possible there are victims in that debris pile,” said Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha, per NBC.