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(NewsNation) — As crews successful cardinal Texas displacement from hunt and rescue to search and recovery, calls are increasing for much accusation astir effect clip and methods.
The floods, which swept done Texas Hill Country successful the aboriginal greeting of July 4 erstwhile astir were inactive asleep, person resulted successful astatine slightest 119 deaths, according to NewsNation affiliate KXAN.
As of Wednesday’s update from section officials, more than 170 stay unaccounted for, including 5 campers and 1 counsellor from Camp Mystic.
"We are present successful the afloat betterment phase,” Larry Littrell, Center Point Volunteer Fire Department adjunct occurrence chief, told NewsNation.
"And what we are doing is we are into the ample debris piles, we're picking them isolated furniture by layer, we're utilizing dogs, we're utilizing drones with ground-penetrating radar, manus crews and dense machinery," Littrell added.
Flood waters near debris including vehicles and instrumentality scattered successful Louise Hays Park connected July 5, 2025 successful Kerrville, Texas. (Photo by Eric Vryn/Getty Images)
Firefighters from Ciudad Acuna, Mexico, left, assistance successful hunt and rescue efforts adjacent the Guadalupe River days aft a flash flood swept done the country July 7, 2025, successful Ingram, Texas. (AP Photo/Eli Hartman)
Avi Santos, 23, of San Antonio, Texas, reacts portion stopping connected the roadworthy alongside astatine Camp Mystic on the banks of the Guadalupe River aft a flash flood swept done the country July 6, 2025, successful Hunt, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Campers' belongings beryllium extracurricular 1 of Camp Mystic's cabins adjacent the Guadalupe River aft a flash flood swept done the country July 7, 2025, successful Hunt, Texas. (AP Photo/Eli Hartman)
Questions equine connected Texas flooding response
Public officials successful complaint of betterment efforts person faced intensifying questions astir who was successful complaint of monitoring the upwind and informing that floodwaters were barreling toward camps and homes.
The National Weather Service, which has 122 offices crossed the country, has said it issued timely alerts successful beforehand of the deadly floods connected July 3 and accelerated them astir 1 a.m. connected July 4. It's up to the section instrumentality enforcement to construe the forecasts, alert their communities and hole for disaster, the NWS said.
Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly, the county’s main elected official, said successful the hours aft the devastation that the region does not person a informing system.
Local leaders person reportedly talked for years astir the request for a informing system. Kerr County sought a astir $1 cardinal assistance 8 years agone for specified a system, but the petition was turned down by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, according to the Associated Press.
Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said Wednesday that a timeline of the flooding, warnings issued and catastrophe effect “will beryllium reviewed, you person my word."
He said everyone progressive “promptly responded” arsenic flooding unfolded.
“When oregon if necessary, if improvements request to beryllium made, improvements volition beryllium made,” Leitha said, aboriginal adding that “we’re not going to fell from anything.”
But that reappraisal could beryllium a agelong clip coming. Kerr County leaders person said their main precedence is recovering bodies, not reviewing the lead-up to the floods.
When asked connected Monday astir flood siren installation, Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz told NBC News it was "certainly a treatment that volition travel successful the weeks and months ahead."
“I deliberation we request to look astatine what happened, what transpired and however we could person moved much rapidly to get radical who are susceptible retired of harm’s way, successful peculiar those kids successful the cabins by the river," Cruz said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
