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4 things to know about the deadly Texas floods and ongoing search efforts
Search and recovery workers dig through debris at Camp Mystic near Hunt, Texas, on Sunday.
Jim Vondruska/Getty Images
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Jim Vondruska/Getty Images
After a weekend of catastrophic flooding in central Texas, search operations continue as questions swirl about whether officials could have done more to warn people before the river’s rapid rise.
The Guadalupe River swelled more than 26 feet in less than an hour early Friday morning, sweeping low-lying homes, cars and trees downstream and washing away much of Camp Mystic, an all-girls’ Christian summer camp.
At least 78 people are dead and another 41 are known to be missing, officials said on Sunday. Emergency responders have so far rescued hundreds of people by boat, truck and helicopter.
But search efforts have been complicated by fallen debris, heat, snakes and continued rainfall. Flash floods killed at least 11 people in the Austin region on Saturday, and a flood watch is in effect in through Monday evening in south central Texas, including the embattled Kerrville area.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said on Sunday that the state is broadening its area of focus for rescue efforts — citing the lives lost “in the greater region” — but pledged that Kerrville remains a top priority.
“We will remain 100% dedicated, searching for every single one of the children who were at Camp Mystic as well as anybody else in the entire riverbed to make sure that they’re going to be recovered,” Abbott said.
President Trump signed a federal disaster declaration on Sunday to help with those efforts, and said he will visit the state this week. Here’s what else we know so far.
1. The death toll is expected to rise
The death toll in hardest-hit Kerr County includes 40 adults and 28 children, Sheriff Larry Leitha said on Sunday.
Camp Mystic, located on the banks of the Guadalupe River some 18 miles from Kerrville, says it is grieving the loss of 27 campers and counselors. Separately, the death of the camp director was confirmed by family.
The century-old institution was hosting some 750 campers, according to Texas Public Radio. It’s not clear if that death toll includes the 10 campers and one counselor who officials said were missing as of Sunday.
Abbott said Sunday that while a total of 41 people are reported missing, that number is likely much higher.
“Especially in the Kerrville area, there were so many people who were just camping out … adults camping out near the river, people in RVs and things like that,” he said. “There are people who are missing who are not on the known confirmed missing [list] because we don’t yet know who they are.”
Officials urged residents to alert local officials if any of their loved ones may be missing in the Kerrville area — and to avoid potentially dangerous road conditions and so as not to interfere with rescue operations.
Debris is seen in the Guadalupe River in Kerrville, Texas, on Sunday.
Jorge Salgado/Anadolu via Getty Images
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Jorge Salgado/Anadolu via Getty Images
2. Search and rescue efforts continue
Officials say more than 850 people have been rescued so far. The Texas Military Department said on Sunday that it has rescued 520 individuals, through 361 Black Hawk air evacuations and 159 ground rescues.
More than 400 first responders from over 20 agencies have been assisting with the search and rescue efforts in Kerr County. Officials there said on Sunday that there has been a “full response from local, state and national first responders,” with air, water, K9 and other assets involved.
W. Nim Kidd, chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management, said on Sunday that those efforts continue even as the state begins recovery operations, like clearing debris and reopening roads.
“That does not mean we are no longer doing search for live victims, because we still are,” he said, adding, “we’re doing everything we can to find their missing loved ones.”
3. Federal forecasters and Texas officials are pointing fingers
Questions are piling up about whether a region nicknamed “Flash Flood Alley” should have done more to prepare for Friday’s deluge, such as evacuating local summer camps.
Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice declined to answer those questions at a press conference on Sunday, saying the “rain hit at the most inopportune time and right in the most inopportune areas.”
Some Texas officials have suggested that the National Weather Service (NWS) didn’t adequately warn them of the extent of the danger, which the federal agency denies.
According to NPR’s timeline, the Texas Division of Emergency Management activated emergency response resources as early as Wednesday. On Thursday, it posted on social media and informed local officials about the risk of potential flooding.
Separately, the NWS’ Austin/San Antonio office issued a flood watch for multiple counties, which it upgraded to a flood warning just after midnight on Friday and expanded in the early morning hours.
By 4:06 a.m, with river levels rising quickly, it warned of an ongoing “very dangerous flash flooding event.” The official social media pages of the City of Kerrville’s Police Department and Kerr County sheriff didn’t post about the emergency until after 6 a.m.
Meteorologists told NPR that it is extremely tricky to predict what a complex weather system will do and then convince people to prepare for the worst-case scenario. Some critics have questioned whether those efforts were further hampered by the Trump administration’s cuts to the federal workforce, which cost the NWS nearly 600 workers earlier this year (some were rehired after backlash).
Trump denied that on Sunday. “I would just say this is a 100-year catastrophe, and it’s just so horrible to watch,” Trump said.
Hunt Baptist Church in Texas is offering free water, food, and clothes to anyone in need.
Jim Vondruska/Getty Images
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Jim Vondruska/Getty Images
4. Trump says he will visit later this week
Rice, the Kerrville city manager, said on Sunday that “local and regional partners are committed to a full review of the events and systems in place.”
But with all eyes on rescue and recovery operations, federal and state officials say questions about what went wrong — and future preparedness plans — should be revisited later.
“Let’s focus on finding those who can be found, then we can always assess what we need to do later, going forward,” U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, said on Saturday.
Trump told reporters on Sunday that he plans to visit Texas this week, “probably Friday.”
“I would have done it today, but we’d just be in their way,” he said.
Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, told Morning Edition on Monday it’s been heartening to see the level of support Kerr County is getting from people around the world, including donations and volunteer sign-ups.
“But it’s gonna take the community a long time to recover there,” he said.
Texas Public Radio has compiled this guide to how to find and get help in the area.
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The House on Wednesday passed a measure to direct President Trump withdraw U.S. forces from Iran or win congressional approval to continue military operations there. The vote was the fourth of its kind in the chamber since the war began, the previous three having failed.
A vote on this measure was originally scheduled for last month but was pulled by House Republican leaders after it became clear they lacked the votes at the time to defeat it because of several members’ absences. Several Republicans were also absent on Wednesday, but party leaders were unable to delay the vote any longer.
Votes fell mostly along party lines, with the exception of four Republicans, who voted with Democrats to pass the measure. Representative Jared Golden, Democrat of Maine, who had previously voted with Republicans, flipped and voted with his party.
Republicans who voted against their party
The House vote came after four Senate Republicans last month broke from their party to advance a measure to assert the legislature’s role in authorizing the war. The Senate had rejected seven other similar measures, but Republicans in both chambers have expressed increased uneasiness with the conflict as it wears on.
Even if a war powers resolution passed in both the House and Senate, it would be subject to an all-but-certain veto by Mr. Trump, which would need a two-thirds majority in both chambers to override. Beyond that, the president and his senior aides have frequently dismissed efforts by Congress to rein in his war powers, saying they are unconstitutional.
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Washington — The House on Wednesday passed a measure that would force President Trump to end the war with Iran without congressional authorization, marking the first time the lower chamber has defied the White House on the conflict.
The House voted 215 to 208 to approve the war powers resolution with the help of four Republicans. Democratic Rep. Jared Golden of Maine, who has voted against the three previous failed attempts, also dropped his opposition and voted for the measure, giving his party unanimity on the issue.
Republican Reps. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Tom Barrett of Michigan and Warren Davidson of Ohio voted with Democrats in favor of the measure.
Democrats in the chamber erupted in applause after passage.
The vote was supposed to take place before lawmakers left for the Memorial Day recess, but House GOP leaders abruptly pulled the vote when it became clear they did not have the numbers to block it. Several Republicans were absent and others were expected to support it.
The Senate advanced a similar measure in May to rein in Mr. Trump on Iran after four Republicans joined all but one Democrat to push it forward. Three Republican absences also helped deliver the breakthrough after seven previous unsuccessful votes.
But the Senate’s procedural vote was just the first step on the way to potential passage, and Republicans will have another opportunity to block it in the coming days.
It’s unclear when they plan to vote on the House version. In a statement, House Democratic leaders called on Senate Republicans “to do the right thing.”
Support for the war from some Republicans waned after the conflict passed a statutory 60-day deadline under the War Powers Resolution of 1973, which says the president must remove armed forces from hostilities if Congress has not authorized the war. The war passed the deadline on May 1, but the administration has argued that a fragile ceasefire stopped the clock in early April, though both sides have carried out attacks since then.
The Trump administration has also argued the War Powers Resolution of 1973 is unconstitutional, though that theory has never been tested in court.
Republicans who have voted in favor of limiting Mr. Trump’s military powers in Iran have been uncomfortable with the lack of congressional authorization on the war and a strategy to end it. Some fear the war’s unpopularity and the economic fallout could harm the GOP’s chances at keeping control of Congress after the midterm elections in November.
GOP Rep. Ashley Hinson of Iowa, who is running for Senate, said in a private exchange at a campaign stop last week that the war could be a “political liability” if it continues beyond “the next couple of weeks,” according to audio obtained by CBS News.
But Mr. Trump said last month he was in “no hurry” to make a deal with Iran ahead of the midterms.
“Everybody’s saying, ‘Oh, the midterms, I’m in a hurry.’ I’m in no hurry,” he said.
The resolution approved Wednesday was introduced in April by Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. It directs the president “to remove United States Armed Forces from hostilities with Iran,” unless Congress declares war or authorizes the use of military force.
Rep. Brian Mast of Florida, the Republican chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, earlier Wednesday called it a “stupid political vote” that “weakens the president’s hands as he’s negotiating with Iran.”
After the vote, Meeks brushed off the assertion that the war powers votes have undercut the president during negotiations with Iran. When asked whether Democrats would keep forcing votes to end the Iran war, Meeks told reporters, “You can expect us to continue to do our jobs.”
“We’re going to continue to do our constitutional responsibilities,” he said.
Fitzpatrick, who also voted in favor of a war powers resolution in May, said, “The law is the law.”
“We have to follow the law. There’s a law on the books,” Fitzpatrick said. “So you have two choices: You either follow the law or you change the law. You can’t violate the law. That’s not an option.”
During floor debate on the measure on May 20, Democrats questioned why Republicans haven’t held a vote on an authorization for military force to provide Mr. Trump with legal guardrails for attacking Iran.
“If my Republican colleagues believe this is justified, they should bring an AUMF to the floor,” Meeks said.
There’s been little momentum so far behind an AUMF introduced by Barrett earlier in May.
Rep. Kevin Kiley of California, an independent who caucuses with Republicans, argued there are “better tools” for Congress to assert its authority.
“We actually have the ability to provide direction as to how funds should be used,” Kiley said, referring to Congress’ power of the purse. “I understand why people want to use whatever tools are available, but I believe that Congress should use those tools of congressional oversight and the powers we have under Article I that really have teeth here.”
Note: Map shows the area with a shake intensity of 3 or greater, which U.S.G.S. defines as “weak,” though the earthquake may be felt outside the areas shown. The New York Times
A moderately strong, 5.1-magnitude earthquake struck in the North Pacific Ocean on Wednesday, according to the United States Geological Survey.
The temblor happened at 5:45 a.m. Pacific time about 40 miles west of Petrolia, Calif., data from the agency shows.
As seismologists review available data, they may revise the earthquake’s reported magnitude. Additional information collected about the earthquake may also prompt U.S.G.S. scientists to update the shake-severity map.
Subsequent quakes have been reported in the same area. Such temblors are typically aftershocks caused by minor adjustments along the portion of a fault that slipped at the time of the initial earthquake.
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Quakes and aftershocks within 100 miles
Aftershocks can occur days, weeks or even years after the first earthquake. These events can be of equal or larger magnitude to the initial earthquake, and they can continue to affect already damaged locations.
The New York Times
When quakes and aftershocks occurred
Sources: United States Geological Survey (epicenter, aftershocks, shake intensity); LandScan via Oak Ridge National Laboratory (population density) | Notes: Shaking categories are based on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale. When aftershock data is available, the corresponding maps and charts include earthquakes within 100 miles and seven days of the initial quake. All times above are Pacific time. Shake data is as of Wednesday, June 3 at 6:03 a.m. Pacific time. Aftershocks data is as of Wednesday, June 3 at 8:01 a.m. Pacific time.
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