The search for those missing in catastrophic Texas floods resumes in some areas after pause for rain

KERRVILLE Texas AP For a second straight day rain forecasts hampered the search Monday for people still missing after deadly floods pummeled Texas this month as representatives made plans to drain reservoirs in the search for casualties While specific crews resumed the search along the Guadalupe River on Monday others held off wary of the forecast Personnel also questioned for patience saying selected have been threatened for their perceived lack of action that could have prevented the deaths at least people in the July storm The first pause in search efforts due to the weather came Sunday in Texas Hill Country where the soil is still primed for enhanced water runoff More than people are unaccounted for in Kerr County alone and more in neighboring areas Trailer after trailer after trailer swept away Texas Hill Country is a popular destination for tourists where campers seek out spots along the river amid the rolling hills Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly mentioned during a commissioners meeting Monday that it s been complex to determine exactly how multiple tourists were in the area when the flooding occurred We ve heard accounts of trailer after trailer after trailer being swept into the river with families in the them Can t find the trailers Kelly announced It s what we don t know We don t know how a great number of of them there are Kelly disclosed he d been informed of one trailer that was discovered thoroughly covered in gravel feet meters below the surface of the river He commented sonar crews have been searching the river and local lakes and more are expected to arrive Commissioner Don Harris reported agents plan to drain two reservoir lakes on the river Who knows how numerous out there are altogether covered Harris disclosed The Federal Crisis Management Agency s Urban Search and Rescue teams fully resumed operations on Monday commented Obed Frometa FEMA Blue Circumstance Promotion Band information officer Levi Bizzell a spokesperson for the Ingram Volunteer Fire Department which has been organizing about searchers announced the department suspended operations for the day on Monday because several inches of rain were expected to fall on Kerr County by late afternoon Everybody here wants to be out there working Bizzell declared They literally come in in the morning whether they are tired or not and they just want to get out there and work because they want to find closure for these families Kerr County meanwhile advised all assistants to leave the river area and move to higher ground saying only those teams working under the direction of Kerr County Emergency Operations Center Unified Command were permitted in the response zone Playing a blame tournament In Kerrville about miles kilometers west of Austin local leaders have come under scrutiny over whether residents were adequately warned about the rising water on July Agents in Kerrville went door-to-door to chosen homes early Sunday warning that flooding was again viable and pushed phone alerts to area residents Kerr County commissioners demanded the community for their patience as the search and cleanup continues Commissioner Rich Paces reported during a meeting Monday morning that he has received death threats They re just playing a blame tournament Paces disclosed During a special Kerrville City Council meeting council member Brenda Hughes also complained of threats to city personnel and staff which she did not detail and called for increased assurance at City Hall We re not only dealing with all of the aftermath of this tragic event but now we have to worry about threats that are coming to staff targeted threats that are specific to individual staff members she explained More rain expected Areas that were hit by the July Fourth floods were forecast to get more rain on Monday afternoon including to inches to centimeters in Kerr County mentioned Bob Fogarty a meteorologist for the National Weather System s Austin San Antonio office It is not going to be good for them Fogarty announced A line of thunderstorms that earlier dumped to inches to centimeters in counties to the west was forecast to hit Kerr County which remained under a flood watch advisory through p m Monday The Guadalupe River remained below flood stage but that could as the storm rolls in Fogarty declared Yet more thunderstorms could hit the area Monday night and early Tuesday We re hopeful that it will not be in the Kerr County area that maybe it ll be a little further west that they would not get as much rain Fogarty explained But we think that there s going to be several more heavy rain overnight tonight and then hopefully it ll dry out by mid-week Bad weather forces a halt to search efforts Gov Greg Abbott mentioned Sunday on X that the state had rescued dozens of people in San Saba Lampasas and Schleicher counties and that people evacuated their homes in a handful of others The latest flooding damaged about homes and knocked down untold lengths of cattle fencing noted Ashley Johnson CEO of the Hill Country District Action Association a San Saba-based nonprofit Anything you can imagine in a rural region was damaged she explained Our blessing is it was daylight and we knew it was coming The weather system brought widespread slow-moving storms and multiple rounds of heavy rain Sunday pushing rivers and streams over their banks The July Fourth flood Just before daybreak on the Fourth of July destructive fast-moving waters rose feet meters on the Guadalupe River washing away homes and vehicles Crews in helicopters boats and drones have been searching for casualties The floods laid waste to the Hill Country region The riverbanks and hills of Kerr County are filled with vacation cabins youth camps and campgrounds including Camp Mystic the century-old all-girls Christian summer camp Located in a low-lying area along the Guadalupe River in a region known as flash flood alley Camp Mystic lost at least campers and counselors The flood was far more severe than the -year event envisioned by the Federal Emergency Management Agency experts declared and moved so speedily in the middle of the night that it caught multiple off guard in a county that lacked a warning system