At least 104 people have died in six US counties following flooding in the state of Texas, where several people are still missing and search operations continue amid new warnings of possible flooding overnight.
The majority of the fatalities are in Kerr County, where at least 84 people have died, 28 of them minors. The search continues for ten girls and a counselor from a Christian camp devastated by the flooding Guadalupe River, according to the Sheriff’s Office, which puts the number of adults and minors awaiting identification at 22 and ten, respectively.
Meanwhile, Kerr County authorities have asked the county’s residents to “keep their drones on the ground,” as “it is vital to ensure the safety of people and equipment.” This follows the Kerrville City Council’s statement, which describes how “a private drone operating illegally in restricted airspace collided with a helicopter participating in emergency operations in Kerr County” during the afternoon, forcing the aircraft to make an emergency landing and placing “a critical piece of response equipment (…) out of service until further notice.”
Temporary flight restrictions, such as the one in place over the search area, “are not suggestions,” the Kerrville City Council and the county sheriff’s office emphasized. The Kerrville City Council and the county sheriff’s office also urged private boat owners through social media to “stay clear of the Guadalupe River and its tributaries to allow search and rescue teams to operate without interference.”
Meanwhile, at least twenty more people have died in other parts of the Guadalupe River corridor: seven in Travis County, six in Kendall County, four in Burnet County, two in Williamson County, and one in Tom Green County, according to NBC’s regional network, which suggests the numbers could continue to rise.
Hours earlier, the White House confirmed that US President Donald Trump will travel to the affected areas this Friday, a destination where Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem had already visited over the weekend.
