Texas floods latest: Death toll reaches 109 as Trump confirms visit to disaster site with Melania on Friday
The death toll from the Texas flooding disaster reached 109 victims on Tuesday as crews began to shift from rescue operations to recovery as the hope of finding survivors faded.
Donald Trump confirmed that he and First Lady Melania Trump intend to visit the disaster site in Kerr County on Friday, but said they didn’t “want to get in anyone’s way.”
“That’s what happens – a president goes and everyone is focused [on them] – I don’t want anyone to focus on us,” he said, adding that the situation was “tragic.”
The majority of the flooding victims were killed in Kerr County after the Guadalupe River rose almost 24 feet in under an hour early on July 4, carrying off vehicles, RVs and lifting buildings from their foundations.
Camp Mystic, an all-girls Christian summer camp on the riverbank, confirmed 27 girls and staff members had been killed with 11 still missing. Hundreds of emergency responders continued to search through debris with the flood’s footprint stretching more than 100km.
Central Texas, including the area around Kerrville, is expected to be much drier Wednesday after days of rain and ongoing flood risks, though forecasters suggest there is a chance of a thunderstorm later in the evening – a potential trigger for further flash flooding.
