Texas flood death toll rises to 131, dozens still missing amid new rain threat

The death toll from a devastating series of floods across Texas climbed to 131 on Monday, as Governor Greg Abbott warned that another wave of heavy rainfall threatens to worsen what is already one of the deadliest flood disasters in recent US history.

At a press briefing, Abbott said, “Storms have claimed at least 131 lives in Texas since July 4,” with most of the fatalities in and around Kerrville — where the Guadalupe River turned deadly following a flash flood during the Independence Day weekend.

As of Monday, 97 people remained unaccounted for in the greater Kerrville area, though that number had dropped from over 160 missing last week. The governor confirmed that “about a third of the Kerr County fatalities are children,” many of whom were killed when water surged through Camp Mystic, a girls-only Christian summer camp in the town of Hunt.

The torrential July 4 storm dumped over a foot of rain in under an hour in Texas Hill Country — an area ominously nicknamed “flash flood alley” — triggering a lethal surge down the Guadalupe River basin.

Recovery and search efforts have been further complicated by another round of storms. A National Weather Service flood watch forecasting heavy downpours of up to half a foot of rain was posted until Tuesday morning for a wide swath of central Texas extending from the Rio Grande east to San Antonio and Austin.

Officials have halted recovery operations along the riverbanks due to renewed flooding concerns. Residents and search teams have been urged to seek higher ground.

Abbott also announced that the Texas Legislature will convene a special session later this month to investigate the flood disaster’s root causes, including emergency response and preparedness. He noted rising public concern over the “lack of flash-flood warning sirens in Kerr County and staffing shortages at National Weather Service offices” due to earlier federal cuts.

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Inputs from Reuters