Guadalupe River flooding may have swept away multiple BOY SCOUT CAMPS, as Texas lawmaker’s answers spark fury: Live updates

Kerr County’s top lawmaker raged at reporters during a Friday afternoon press conference when probed about the safety of the community’s children.

A journalist asked Judge Rob Kelly why the local summer camps were not evacuated after the Texas Department of Emergency Management warned of a ‘problem’ yesterday.

‘I can’t answer that. I don’t know,’ Kelly replied.

But the reporter pushed back: ‘Well, you’re the judge, you’re the top official here in this county, why can’t you answer that? There are kids missing. We knew these camps were in harms way. We knew this flood was coming.’

Kelly, apparently outraged by the line of questioning, dismissed the reporter, saying: ‘We didn’t know this flood was coming.

‘We didn’t know this kind of flood was coming. We have floods all the time. This is the most dangerous river valley in the United States.

‘We had no reason to believe that this was going to be anything like whats happened here, none whatsoever.’

Friday’s floods in Kerrsville, Texas, likely washed away dozens of scouts and summer camps along the banks of the Guadalupe River.

Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly – the area’s top public official – conceded there were ‘alot of camps’ along the flood plain, which saw the river surge by 22 feet.

Frantic parents are now trying to find out what happened to their children. At least six are confirmed dead but it’s feared that death toll will rocket – and that many of the victims will be youngsters enjoying a summer adventure with their friends.

During a tense press conference Friday, Kelly was asked by a reporter what advice he’d give to any parent desperate to find out of a child who was at camp was okay.

‘Call the camps,’ Kelly snapped.

There are currently widespread power outages across the region, making calls on land lines or mobile phones difficult.

‘We have a lot of camps. I don’t know any specifics about any of the individual camps, but what I do know is everyone is doing their very best trying to identify as much as they can,’ Kelly said during a press conference today.

There are dozens of summer camps in Kerr County. It is unclear which ones are directly impacted by the flooding.

Pictured: The flooded Guadalupe River in central Texas this morning

As much as 10 inches of heavy rain fell in just a few hours overnight in central Kerr County, causing flash flooding of the Guadalupe River.

The river continued to rapidly rise early Friday morning, with data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration revealing the water level skyrocketed 26 feet in just one hour.

The river height – recorded near Comfort, Texas – was around 3 feet at 8am Friday morning, but rapidly rose to a height of 29.86 feet by 9am, an average increase of 12 inches every one to two minutes.

The Guadalupe’s river gauge at the unincorporated community of Hunt, where the river forks, recorded a 22 foot rise in just about two hours, according to Bob Fogarty, meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Austin/San Antonio office.

Fogarty said the gauge failed after recording a level of 29.5 feet.

The National Weather Service has extended the flash flood emergency for the region along the Guadalupe River until at least 3pm (4pm EST) today.

The NWS first declared a flash flood emergency for all of Kerr County, roughly 90 miles outside of San Antonio, early this morning after nearly 10 inches of rain fell overnight.

The warning has been extended repeatedly thoughout the day with authorities warnign of ‘dangerous’ and potentially ‘life-threatening’ floods. 

Residents are urged to ‘seek higher ground immediately’.

An entire RV park in Ingram, Texas was swept downstream by the floods overnight while families were still inside their homes.

Footage captured by KEYE-TV Meteorologist Avery Tomasco shows how the area where the ‘large RV park’ once stood has become completely engulfed by water.

It is unclear any of the residents were injured or killed in the incident.

An all-girls summer camp situated along the Guadalupe River was evacuated overnight after heavy rainfall caused flash floods.

Summer campers were seen wading through high waters at Camp Mystic, located west of Kerrville, in the middle of the night.

Some campers appear to be missing, with KSAT reporting that an email was sent to ‘parents of campers who have not been accounted for’.

The memo further noted that all campers at Cypress Lake and Senior Hill were accounted for.

It is currently unclear if any rescue missions for campers or staff are underway at Camp Mystic. Dozens of water rescues are taking place across Kerr County today.

Kerr County’s top lawmaker Judge Rob Kelly revealed one of the six people so-far confirmed dead in the Guadalupe River floods was totally naked.

He said officials were having to fingerprint bodies to try and confirm identities.

Kelly added: ‘One of them was completely naked. They didn’t have any ID on them.’

The Guadalupe River rose to its second-highest height on record today at a height of 34 feet, the National Weather Service (NWS) confirmed early Friday morning.

The river’s highest height was 36 feet, recorded during a major flood in 1987 when nearly 12 inches of rain fell in the town of Hunt.

The historic flood triggered a ‘wave’ downstream and killed 10 teenagers. The wave – which moved through nearby Ingram, Kerrville and Comfort – left 33 others injured.

Meteorologists with KEYE believe the record has already been surpassed today, but note the river’s flood gauge is no longer reporting.

Kerrville Mayor Joe Herring Jr has issued a disaster declaration after severe flooding overnight resulted in widespread damage, injury and loss of life.

‘Damages will be monumental to both public infrastructure and private properties, with estimates impossible to determine until floodwaters recede,’ the declaration warns.

‘Emergency crews are very active across the county responding to calls and rescues.’

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott confirmed the state is ‘surging all available resources’ to help with the emergency flash flooding in Kerr County.

The state is sending water rescue teams, Department of Public Safety officials and members of the National Guard to the area.

‘The immediate priority is saving lives,’ he added.

A Kerrville man, his wife and their two children are missing after floods rushed through their neighborhood overnight, WOAI-TV reports.

The area where the family’s home once stood is now a vacant lot, with officials suspecting the property was swept away by the storm.

The missing father’s brother visited the vacant lot where the family’s home once stood early Friday morning.

Pictured: A concerned man stands at the vacant lot where his brother’s Kerrville home once stood

Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly confirmed there have been multiple fatalities in the deadly Texas floods.

The judge, during a press conference around 12pm (1pm EST), shared how some the victims were having to be fingerprinted at a local funeral home so they can be identified.

He noted that one of the victims was completely naked when their body was discovered.

The judge did not identify any of the deceased and declined to confirm the specific number of deaths.

Authorities are expected to provide an updated death toll around 3pm today local time (4pm EST).

Earlier today, Kelly told KVUE and Austin Statesman reporter Tony Plohetski that at least six deaths had been recorded across Kerr County.

Pictured: A home in Hunt that was completely destroyed by flash flooding overnight

Pictured: Road closures have been reported across Kerrville, where the local streets are flooded and low water crossings now completely impassable