Web Desk(National Times)- The casualty toll will likely rise, authorities said, as localities beyond the main site of the disaster in Kerr County were affected by the flooding. A Travis County official said four people had died from the flooding there, with 13 unaccounted for, and officials reported another death in Kendall County. Some news organizations reported the death toll in Texas was already as high as 52. Reuters could not confirm that. Officials said more than 850 people had been rescued, including some clinging to trees, after a sudden storm dumped up to 15 inches (38 cm) of rain in an area around the Guadalupe River, about 85 miles (140 km) northwest of San Antonio. Among the missing were 27 girls from the Camp Mystic summer camp, Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice told a press conference on Saturday evening, and there may be others beyond that. Rice said 27 people were known to be missing, but \u201cwe will not put a number on the other side because we just don\u2019t know.\u201d The disaster in Texas unfolded rapidly on Friday morning as heavier-than-forecast rain drove river waters rapidly to as high as 29 feet (9 meters). \u201cWe know that the rivers rise, but nobody saw this coming,\u201d said Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly, the top local official in the region. Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said 17 of the confirmed dead, including five children, had yet to be identified. The National Weather Service said the flash flood emergency has largely ended for Kerr County, following thunderstorms that dumped more than a foot of rain. That is half of the total the region sees in a typical year. A flood watch was in effect until 7 p.m. for the broader region. Kerr County sits in the Texas Hill Country, a rural area known for rugged terrain, historic towns and tourist attractions. Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick said an unknown number of visitors had come to the area for an Independence Day celebration by the river. \u201cWe don\u2019t know how many people were in tents on the side, in small trailers by the side, in rented homes by the side,\u201d he said on Fox News Live.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Web Desk(National Times)- The casualty toll will likely rise, authorities said, as localities beyond the main site of the disaster in Kerr County were affected by the flooding. A Travis County official said four people had died from the flooding there, with 13 unaccounted for, and officials reported another death in Kendall County. Some news […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":107571,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-107570","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n