Texas Floods: Death Toll Rises to Over 100

… Camp Mystic Devastated by Flash Flood
… 27 Campers, Director and Counselors Among the Dead

Search teams are combing through muddy riverbanks and flying aircraft over flood-ravaged central Texas as hopes of finding survivors among dozens still missing are dwindling. The death toll from the disaster has risen to at least 96 lives, many of them children.

In Kerr County, 84 bodies have been recovered, including 56 adults and 28 children. Camp Mystic, a Christian girls’ summer camp, has been particularly hard hit, with 27 campers and counselors confirmed dead and 10 girls and a counselor still unaccounted for. The camp’s co-owner and director, Richard “Dick” Eastland, 70, also died trying to save children from the flood.

The disaster has affected several counties in south-central Texas, with at least 104 people reported killed across the entire flood zone. Officials are bracing for more heavy rains and thunderstorms, which could hinder search and rescue efforts.

Kerrville Mayor Joe Herring Jr described the situation as dire, saying, “This will be a rough week.” The camp where the tragedy occurred has been a staple in the community for nearly a century, and its owners, the Eastlands, have run it since 1974.

(With Reuters Reporting)