At least 161 people remained missing in Kerr County, the place hit hardest by devastating floods that swept through Texas’ Hill Country five days ago, Gov. Greg Abbott said Tuesday, as the slim hopes of finding survivors continued to fade.
The number of missing cited by the governor — the first time an official had identified the scale of the recovery operation still ahead — suggested the death toll of 111 could more than double as searchers continue to find bodies. Officials in Kerr County acknowledged that no one had been found alive there since Friday.
“The primary job right now continues to be locating everybody who was affected by this flood,” Abbott said at an afternoon news conference, later adding: “We will not stop until we identify, recover every single body.”
The youth of many of the victims added to the overwhelming sense of loss. The death toll in Kerr County included at least 30 children, making the floods among the deadliest disasters for children in the United States in recent decades. The victims include many from Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp for girls, where 27 campers and staff members were killed. Five girls and a 19-year-old counselor remained missing as of Tuesday evening.
Demands for investigations and accountability intensified Tuesday, even as Republican officials at the state and federal level continued to deflect responsibility. Abbott said lawmakers would consider solutions during a special session that begins in 10 days, and compared disaster responses to a football game: “The losing teams are the ones that try to point out who’s to blame.”
At least 87 of those killed in the floods were in Kerr County. The other 22 were from nearby counties: seven in Travis County, eight in Kendall County, five in Burnet County, three in Williamson County and one in Tom Green County.
President Donald Trump announced at a Cabinet meeting Tuesday that he would tour the disaster site Friday.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
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