Emergency crews suspend search for Hill Country flooding victims amid new flood warnings

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Emergency crews suspended their search for victims of catastrophic flooding in Central Texas on Sunday morning amid new warnings that additional rain would again cause waterways to surge.

It was the first time a new round of severe weather has paused the search since the flooding earlier this month.

Ingram Fire Department officials ordered search crews to immediately evacuate the Guadalupe River corridor in Kerr County until further notice, warning the potential for a flash flood is high. On a Facebook post, the department warned area residents to stay away from river beds and roads.

“NOW IS NOT THE TIME to be out trying to watch rising water, take videos, or capture pictures of the devastation. We are seeing the same weather pattern today that we experienced on July 4th—and we know how quickly that turned deadly,” the post read.

Search-and-rescue teams have been searching for missing victims of the July 4 weekend flooding.

Search and rescue efforts were expected to resume on Monday, depending on river flow, Fire Department spokesperson Brian Lochte said.

“We’re working with a few crews and airboats and SAR (search-and-rescue) boats just in case,” Lochte said.

As heavy rain fell Sunday, National Weather Service forecasters warned that the Guadalupe River could rise to nearly 15 feet by Sunday afternoon, about five feet above flood stage and enough to put the Highway 39 bridge near Hunt under water. The NWS issued a flood watch — meaning flooding can occur — until 7 p.m.

“Numerous secondary roads and bridges are flooded and very dangerous,” a weather service warning said.

Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly on Sunday issued an emergency order restricting access to Texas State Highway 39, The Kerr County Lead reported. A candlelight vigil for flood victims scheduled for Sunday night was also postponed, according to a post in Kerr County’s Facebook page.

The destructive, fast-moving waters rose 26 feet on the Guadalupe River in just 45 minutes before daybreak on July 4, washing away homes and vehicles. Ever since, searchers have used helicopters, boats and drones to look for victims and to rescue people stranded in trees and from camps isolated by washed-out roads.

The floods laid waste to the Hill Country. 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 27 campers and counselors and longtime owner Dick Eastland.

The flood was far more severe than the 100-year event envisioned by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, experts said, and moved so quickly in the middle of the night that it caught many off guard in a county that lacked a warning system.

The sheer amount of rain was overwhelming. Former NOAA chief scientist Ryan Maue, a private meteorologist, calculated on July 5 that the storm had dropped 120 billion gallons of water on Kerr County, which received the brunt of the storm.

This summer, flash flooding driven by bursts of heavy rain turned deadly elsewhere in Texas. In San Antonio in June, more than 7 inches of rain fell over a span of hours, prompting dozens of rescues from the fast-rising floodwaters and killing at least 13.

Hayden Betts contributed to this story.

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