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Rescuers in Texas raced against time Sunday to find dozens of missing people, including children, swept away by flash floods that killed at least 68, with forecasters warning of new deluges.Local Texans joined forces with disaster officials on the ground and in helicopters to search for the missing, including 11 girls and a counselor from a riverside Christian summer camp where about 750 people had been staying when disaster struck.In a terrifying display of nature’s power, the rain-swollen waters of the Guadalupe River reached treetops and the roofs of cabins in Camp Mystic as girls slept overnight Friday, washing away some of them and leaving a scene of devastation.Blankets, teddy bears and other belongings at the camp were caked in mud. Windows in the cabins were shattered, apparently by the force of the water.Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick said heavy rain likely to cause more flooding was falling Sunday, as the death toll at the camp and elsewhere in Kerr County rose to at least 59. “We expect that to go higher, sadly,” Patrick told the Fox & Friends Weekend television program.He told stories of heroics, such as a camp counselor smashing a window so girls in their pajamas could swim out and walk through neck-high water.”These little girls, they swam for about 10 or 15 minutes. Can you imagine, in the darkness and the rushing waters and trees coming by you and rocks come on you? And then they get to a spot on the land,” Patrick said.Officials and US media say nine people died in other Texas counties, for a total of 68.Officials had earlier said 27 girls were missing from the camp. Kerrville city manager Dalton Rice told a news conference Sunday morning that the figure was now 11. He did not explain the sharp drop in the number.The National Weather Service (NWS) warned Sunday that slow-moving thunderstorms threatened more flash floods over the saturated ground of central Texas.The flooding began at the start of the Fourth of July holiday weekend as months’ worth of rain fell in a matter of hours, much of it coming overnight as people slept.The Guadalupe surged around 26 feet (eight meters) — more than a two-story building — in just 45 minutes.- ‘Washed away’ -President Donald Trump, at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, signed a major disaster declaration that freed up resources for the state.Flash floods, which occur when the ground is unable to absorb torrential rainfall, are not unusual. The region of south and central Texas where the weekend’s deluge occurred is known colloquially as “Flash Flood Alley.”Scientists say that in recent years human-driven climate change has made extreme weather events such as floods, droughts and heat waves more frequent and more intense.People from elsewhere in Texas converged on Kerr County to help look for the missing. Texans also started flying personal drones to help look but Rice urged them to stop, saying it was a danger for rescue aircraft.One of the searches focused on four young women who were staying in a house that was washed away by the river. Adam Durda and his wife Amber, both 45, drove three hours to chip in.”There was a group of 20-year-olds that were in a house that had gotten washed away,” Durda told AFP. “That’s who the family requested help for, but of course, we’re looking for anybody.”Justin Morales, 36, was part of a search team that found three bodies, including that of a Camp Mystic girl caught up in a tree.”We’re happy to give a family closure and hopefully we can keep looking and find some of the… you know, whoever,” he told AFP.”Help give some of those families closure. That’s why we’re out here.”

BRICS leaders descended on sunny Rio de Janeiro Sunday, but issued a dark warning that US President Donald Trump’s “indiscriminate” import tariffs risk hurting the global economy.The 11 emerging nations — including Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — represent about half the world’s population and 40 percent of global economic output.The bloc is divided about much, but found common cause when it comes to the mercurial US leader and his stop-start tariff wars.The BRICS leaders voiced “serious concerns about the rise of unilateral tariff and non-tariff measures,” warning they are illegal and arbitrary, according to a final summit statement.In April, Trump threatened allies and rivals alike with a slew of punitive duties, but abruptly offered a reprieve in the face of a fierce market sell-off.Trump has warned they will again impose unilateral levies on partners unless they reach “deals” by August 1.The BRICS said such moves break world trade rules, threaten to further reduce global trade and were “affecting prospects for global economic development.”The summit declaration did not mention the United States or its president by name, but it is a clear political volley directed at the occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.The Peterson Institute for International Economics, a Washington think tank, estimates Trump’s tariffs could trim about two points off US GDP and hit economies from Mexico to the oil-rich Arabian Gulf. – No show -Conceived two decades ago as a forum for fast-growing economies, the BRICS have come to be seen as a Chinese-driven counterbalance to Western power. But as the group has expanded to include Iran, Indonesia and others, it has struggled to reach meaningful consensus on issues ranging from the Gaza war to reforming international institutions.  The political punch of this year’s summit has been depleted by the absence of China’s Xi Jinping, who is skipping the meeting for the first time in his 12 years as president.The Chinese leader is not be the only notable absentee. Russian President Vladimir Putin, charged with war crimes in Ukraine, is also opting to stay away, but participated via video link.He told counterparts that the influence of BRICS “continues to grow” and said the bloc had become a key player in global governance.Still, Xi’s no-show is a blow to BRICS and to host President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who wants Brazil to play a bigger role on the world stage.- War and peace -On Sunday he welcomed leaders to Rio’s stunning Guanabara Bay, telling them that multilateralism was under attack, while hitting out at NATO and Israel, among others.He accused the trans-Atlantic defense organization of fueling an international arms race through a pledge by members to spend five percent of GDP on defense.”It is always easier to invest in war than in peace,” he said, while accusing Israel of carrying out “genocide” in Gaza.Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian, whose nation is still reeling from a 12-day conflict with Israel, is also skipping the meeting, but he was represented by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.Still, Iran won the diplomatic backing of its allies over Israel and the United States’ recent bombing of Iranian military, nuclear and other sites.Tehran’s allies condemned the strikes, and voiced “serious concern over deliberate attacks on civilian infrastructure and peaceful nuclear facilities.”The United States, Israel and European nations accuse Iran of using a civilian nuclear program as cover to create a nuclear bomb. The BRICS bloc did not explicitly mention Israel or the United States in the condemnation of the recent attacks, in a concession to members such as hosts Brazil who also enjoy close ties with Western nations.The 2026 BRICS summit is set to be hosted by India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told the gathering.

“Jurassic World: Rebirth” — the latest installment in the blockbuster dinosaur saga — stomped the July 4th weekend competition at the North American box office, raking in a whopping $91.5 million in its debut, industry estimates showed Sunday.The Universal film, starring Scarlett Johansson, Jonathan Bailey and Mahershala Ali, takes viewers to an abandoned island research facility for the original Jurassic Park theme park, where secrets — and genetically mutated dinosaurs — are lurking. “This is an excellent opening for the 7th episode of an action-adventure monster series,” said analyst David A. Gross of Franchise Entertainment Research. “The series has been especially good overseas and so far foreign business is outstanding. Dinosaur action is understood in all languages and across all cultures.””F1: The Movie,” the Apple and Warner Bros. flick starring Brad Pitt as a washed-up Formula One driver who gets one last shot at redemption, slipped to second place at $26.1 million, Exhibitor Relations said.”How to Train Your Dragon,” Universal and DreamWorks Animation’s live-action reboot of the popular 2010 film, held in third place at $11 million.The family-friendly film tells the story of a Viking named Hiccup (Mason Thames) who strikes up a friendship with Toothless the dragon.In fourth place was Disney/Pixar Animation’s latest original film “Elio,” at $5.7 million in the United States and Canada.”Elio” tells the story of a young boy who is mistaken by aliens as an intergalactic ambassador for Earth. The voice cast includes Oscar winner Zoe Saldana.In fifth place was Columbia Pictures’ zombie sequel “28 Years Later,” which took in $4.6 million. The Danny Boyle-directed threequel picks up — as the title suggests — more than a generation after the initial outbreak of the Rage Virus.Rounding out the top 10 were:”M3GAN 2.0″ ($3.8 million)”Lilo & Stitch” ($3.8 million)”Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning” ($2.7 million)”Materialists” ($1.3 million)”Ballerina” ($725,000)

BRICS leaders descended on sunny Rio de Janeiro Sunday, ready to issue a dark warning that US President Donald Trump’s “indiscriminate” import tariffs risk hurting the global economy.The 11 emerging nations — including Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — represent about half the world’s population and 40 percent of global economic output.The bloc is divided about much, but has found common cause when it comes to the mercurial US leader and his stop-start tariff wars.The BRICS are set to voice “serious concerns about the rise of unilateral tariff and non-tariff measures,” warning they are illegal and arbitrary, according to a draft summit statement obtained by AFP.In April, Trump threatened allies and rivals alike with a slew of punitive duties, but abruptly offered a reprieve in the face of a fierce market sell-off.Trump and his Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, have warned they will again impose unilateral levies on partners unless they reach “deals” by August 1.The BRICS will warn that such moves break world trade rules, “threaten to further reduce global trade” and are “affecting the prospects for global economic development.”The draft summit declaration does not mention the United States or its president by name, but it is a clear political volley directed at the occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.The Peterson Institute for International Economics, a Washington think tank, estimates Trump’s tariffs could trim about two points off US GDP and hit economies from Mexico to the oil-rich Arabian Gulf. – No show -Conceived two decades ago as a forum for fast-growing economies, the BRICS have come to be seen as a Chinese-driven counterbalance to Western power. But as the group has expanded to include Iran, Indonesia and others, it has struggled to reach meaningful consensus on issues ranging from the Gaza war to reforming international institutions.  The political punch of this year’s summit has been depleted by the absence of China’s Xi Jinping, who is skipping the meeting for the first time in his 12 years as president.The Chinese leader will not be the only notable absentee. War crime-indicted Russian President Vladimir Putin is also opting to stay away, but participated via video link.He told counterparts that the influence of BRICS “continues to grow” and said the bloc had become a key player in global governance.Still, Xi’s no-show is a blow to BRICS and to host President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who wants Brazil to play a bigger role on the world stage.On Sunday he welcomed leaders to Rio’s stunning Guanabara Bay, telling them that multilateralism was under attack, while hitting out at NATO and Israel, among others.He accused the trans-Atlantic defense organization of fueling an international arms race through a pledge by members to spend five percent of GDP on defense.”It is always easier to invest in war than in peace,” he said, while accusing Israel of carrying out a “genocide” in Gaza.Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian, whose nation is still reeling from a 12-day conflict with Israel, is also skipping the meeting, but he was represented by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.A source familiar with summit negotiations said Iran had sought a tougher condemnation of Israel and the United States over their recent bombing of Iranian military, nuclear and other sites. But one diplomatic source said the text would give the “same message” that BRICS delivered last month.Then Tehran’s allies expressed “grave concern” about strikes against Iran, but did not explicitly mention Israel or the United States. 

Rescuers searched through the night early Sunday for 27 girls missing from a riverside summer camp in Texas, after torrential rains caused devastating floods that killed at least 50 people in the US state.Multiple flash flood warnings remained in place across central Texas after water surged through communities, with the Guadalupe River rising by 26 feet (eight meters) in just 45 minutes.The Kerr County summer camp where hundreds were staying was left in disarray, with blankets, teddy bears and other belongings caked in mud.”We have recovered 43 deceased individuals in Kerr County. Among these who are deceased we have 28 adults and 15 children,” said Larry Leitha, the sheriff of the flood-ravaged region.Multiple victims were also found in other counties, bringing the death toll to 50 so far.There was better news for Congressman August Pfluger, who said Saturday his two young daughters were safely evacuated from Camp Mystic in flooded Kerr County, where the windows of cabins were shattered, apparently by the force of the water.”The last day has brought unimaginable grief to many families and we mourn with them as well as holding out hope for survivors,” the Texas Republican wrote on X. It was unclear if the two girls were among the 27 that authorities said were still missing as of Saturday.Department of Homeland Security head Kristi Noem said the US Coast Guard was “punching through storms” to evacuate stranded residents.”We will fly throughout the night and as long as possible,” she said in a post on X.Texas Department of Emergency Management chief Nim Kidd said air, ground and water-based crews were scouring the length of the Guadalupe River for survivors and the bodies of the dead.Texas Governor Greg Abbott said keeping the search going throughout the night was essential as “every hour counts”. The flooding began Friday — the start of the Fourth of July holiday weekend — as months’ worth of rain fell in a matter of hours.The National Weather Service (NWS) warned that more rain was forecast, and that “excessive runoff may result in flooding of rivers, creeks, streams, and other low-lying and flood-prone locations.”In Kerrville on Saturday, the usually calm Guadalupe was flowing fast, its murky waters filled with debris. “The water reached the top of the trees. About 10 meters or so,” said resident Gerardo Martinez, 61. “Cars, whole houses were going down the river.”Flash floods, which occur when the ground is unable to absorb torrential rainfall, are not unusual.But scientists say that in recent years human-driven climate change has made extreme weather events such as floods, droughts and heatwaves more frequent and more intense.- Devastation at Camp Mystic -On Saturday, Sheriff Leitha said 27 children from Camp Mystic were still missing.Around 750 girls were attending Camp Mystic along the banks of the Guadalupe at the time of the flood.The owner and director of Camp Mystic was also dead, according to the Kerrville website, as was the manager of another nearby summer camp.Elsewhere in Texas, four people were confirmed dead in Travis County, northeast of Kerr, and 13 people were missing, public information office director Hector Nieto told AFP. A 62-year-old woman’s body was found in the city of San Angelo in Tom Green County, along the Concho River, police said. Two more people died in Burnet County, the area’s emergency management coordinator Derek Marchio told AFP, bringing the state-wide death toll to 50.- ‘Catastrophic’ -Noem earlier said Trump wanted to “upgrade the technologies” at the weather service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).”We need to renew this ancient system,” Noem told a press conference.Scientists and disaster management agencies have criticized Trump for cutting funding and staffing at the NOAA, in charge of weather forecasts and preparedness, and the NWS.When asked about claims that residents were given insufficient warning, Noem said she would “carry your concerns back to the federal government.”Officials and residents alike were shocked by the speed and intensity of the flooding.”We didn’t know this flood was coming,” Kerr County official Rob Kelly said Friday.The rain was “double of what was anticipated,” Kerrville city official Dalton Rice said.Soila Reyna, 55, a Kerrville resident who works at a church helping people who lost their belongings, witnessed the devastation unfold.”Nothing like as catastrophic as this, where it involved children, people and just the loss of people’s houses,” Reyna said. “It’s just crazy.”burs-aha/aks/rsc/abh/jfx

In 2019, American musician Jon Dee Graham suffered a heart attack that left him “dead” for several minutes — a scare that inspired his album, “Only Dead For a Little While.”Eighteen months later he had a stroke. And now, the 66-year-old is facing his biggest health challenge yet — and like most musicians, he’s underinsured.Graham suffered an infection following spinal surgery that’s developed into sepsis, and his son said he needs intravenous antibiotic treatments twice daily.But because his treatment is at home, William Harries-Graham said Medicare — the US federal health program that insures elder adults — won’t cover his father.Harries-Graham said the hospital demanded payment upfront in the “thousands of dollars.”The artist “fighting for his life” couldn’t afford it, and recently launched a campaign to sell his drawings, a hobby that has become a means of survival.Graham’s story is not uncommon: Many musicians confront the same health insurance nightmares all Americans do, navigating a labyrinthian system rife with out-of-pocket costs.But musicians are gig workers, which makes it even harder. Most working artists aren’t rich and have variable income, in a cutthroat industry where employer-subsidized insurance for musicians is rare.Pop phenom Chappell Roan underscored the issue on one of music’s biggest platforms earlier this year at the Grammys, calling out record labels for not insuring their artists in front of industry heavyweights as she accepted the prize for Best New Artist.Roan said she herself was dropped from her label and went uninsured for a time: “It was devastating to feel so committed to my art and feel so betrayed by the system and dehumanized,” she said onstage.”Record labels need to treat their artists as valuable employees with a livable wage and health insurance and protection.”- ‘Just a patch’ -About a month after Roan’s statement, glam punk pioneer David Johansen died at 75 years old. His death came just weeks after he had started a GoFundMe to support his cancer treatment.In 2024, Matthew Sweet, the 1990s-era alt rocker, suffered a stroke while on tour. He was uninsured, so his management created a similar online crowdsourcing fundraiser.It’s raised more than $640,000 to date to support his long-term recovery.But such crowdsourcing is a stop-gap, said Tatum Hauck-Allsep, founder and CEO of the Nashville-based Music Health Alliance that helps musicians negotiate medical bills. “In some cases, things like a GoFundMe is a great resource, but in other cases, it’s just a patch. We want to find a long-term solution,” Hauck-Allsep told AFP. She applauded Roan for highlighting the issue, but said insurance from record labels isn’t necessarily what artists want, because it could mean they need to become employees, rather than independent artists.Still, “there should be an easier pathway to health care access,” she said.Bruce Iglauer, head of the blues label Alligator Records, echoed Hauck-Allsep’s point, saying that artists are self-employed.”We guarantee recording budgets and royalty rates, but have no input into, or knowledge of, what other income the artists are making,” Iglauer said.”They are not getting weekly paychecks from us.” And smaller labels say increasingly thin margins would make providing insurance impossible: “The costs of manufacturing have gone up, physical sales have gone down. Streaming sales pay paltry sums,” said Kenn Goodman, founder and CEO of Chicago-based indie record label Pravda Records.”It’s just not financially feasible,” he added. “I wish it was.”- ‘Terrifying’ -Many US musicians get health care through the Barack Obama-era Affordable Care Act — but that coverage is under threat by the Donald Trump administration, which is vying to complicate health care access, and perhaps eventually scrap the system altogether. That would be a “disaster,” said Paul Scott, director of the Healthcare Alliance for Austin Musicians, a non-profit that helps about 3,200 musicians a year in Texas get signed up for coverage under the government health care plan. Many ACA plans still don’t come cheap, but it’s made a huge difference for access, he said. Jettisoning the ACA would likely mean increased prices that would prompt a lot of artists to “drop their health insurance,” Scott said. “And that will be a hit to our safety net hospitals and charity care.”As for Graham, selling his sketches has successfully funded his first few weeks of treatment.But his son doesn’t know if that will be enough.And Harries-Graham worries about those who can’t find fundraising support thanks to their fame.”I don’t know what someone else would have done,” he said. “They would have been yet another person who goes into severe medical debt.””That is terrifying.”

Oblivious to the punishing midday heat, a wheeled robot powered by the sun and infused with artificial intelligence carefully combs a cotton field in California, plucking out weeds.As farms across the United States face a shortage of laborers and weeds grow resistant to herbicides, startup Aigen says its robotic solution — named Element — can save farmers money, help the environment and keep harmful chemicals out of food.”I really believe this is the biggest thing we can do to improve human health,” co-founder and chief technology officer Richard Wurden told AFP, as robots made their way through crops at Bowles Farm in the town of Los Banos.”Everybody’s eating food sprayed with chemicals.”Wurden, a mechanical engineer who spent five years at Tesla, went to work on the robot after relatives who farm in Minnesota told him weeding was a costly bane.Weeds are becoming immune to herbicides, but a shortage of laborers often leaves chemicals as the only viable option, according to Wurden.”No farmer that we’ve ever talked to said ‘I’m in love with chemicals’,” added Aigen co-founder and chief executive Kenny Lee, whose background is in software.”They use it because it’s a tool — we’re trying to create an alternative.”Element the robot resembles a large table on wheels, solar panels on top. Metal arms equipped with small blades reach down to hoe between crop plants.”It actually mimics how humans work,” Lee said as the temperature hit 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 degrees Celsius) under a cloudless sky.”When the sun goes down, it just powers down and goes to sleep; then in the morning it comes back up and starts going again.”The robot’s AI system takes in data from on-board cameras, allowing it to follow crop rows and identify weeds.”If you think this is a job that we want humans doing, just spend two hours in the field weeding,” Wurden said.Aigen’s vision is for workers who once toiled in the heat to be “upskilled” to monitor and troubleshoot robots.Along with the on-board AI, robots communicate wirelessly with small control centers, notifying handlers of mishaps.- Future giant? -Aigen has robots running in tomato, cotton, and sugar beet fields, and touts the technology’s ability to weed without damaging the crops.Lee estimated that it takes about five robots to weed 160 acres (65 hectares) of farm.The robots made by the 25-person startup — based in the city of Redmond, outside Seattle — are priced at $50,000.The company is focused on winning over politically conservative farmers with a climate friendly option that relies on the sun instead of costly diesel fuel that powers heavy machinery.”Climate, the word, has become politicized but when you get really down to brass tacks farmers care about their land,” Lee said.The technology caught the attention of Amazon Web Services (AWS), the e-commerce giant’s cloud computing unit.Aigen was chosen for AWS’s “Compute for Climate” fellowship program that provides AI tools, data center power, and technical help for startups tackling environmental woes.”Aigen is going to be one of the industry giants in the future,” said AWS head of climate tech startups business development Lisbeth Kaufman.”I think about Ford and the Model T, or Edison and the light bulb — that’s Kenny and Rich and Aigen.”

BRICS leaders meeting in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday are expected to decry US President Donald Trump’s “indiscriminate” trade tariffs, saying they are illegal and risk hurting the global economy. Emerging nations, which represent about half the world’s population and 40 percent of global economic output, have united over “serious concerns” about US import tariffs, according to a draft summit statement obtained by AFP on Saturday.Since coming to office in January, Trump has threatened allies and rivals alike with a slew of punitive duties.His latest salvo comes in the form of letters informing trading partners of new tariff rates that will soon enter into force.The draft summit declaration does not mention the United States or its president by name, and could yet be amended by leaders gathering for talks Sunday and Monday.But it is a clear political shot directed at Washington from 11 emerging nations, including Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. “We voice serious concerns about the rise of unilateral tariff and non-tariff measures which distort trade and are inconsistent with WTO (World Trade Organization) rules,” the draft text says. It warns that such measures “threaten to further reduce global trade” and are “affecting the prospects for global economic development.”- Xi no show -Conceived two decades ago as a forum for fast-growing economies, the BRICS have come to be seen as a Chinese-driven counterbalance to Western power. But the summit’s political punch will be depleted by the absence of China’s Xi Jinping, who is skipping the annual meeting for the first time in his 12 years as president.That absence has prompted fevered speculation in some quarters.”The simplest explanation may hold the most explanatory power. Xi recently hosted Lula in Beijing,” said Ryan Hass, a former China director at the US National Security Council who is now with the Brookings Institution think tank.The Chinese leader will not be the only notable absentee. War crime-indicted Russian President Vladimir Putin is also opting to stay away, but will participate via video link, according to the Kremlin.Hass said Putin’s non-attendance and the fact that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be a guest of honor in Brazil could also be factors in Xi’s absence.”Xi does not want to appear upstaged by Modi,” who will receive a state lunch, he said.”I expect Xi’s decision to delegate attendance to Premier Li (Qiang) rests amidst these factors.”Still, the Xi no-show is a blow to host President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who wants Brazil to play a bigger role on the world stage.In the year to November 2025, Brazil will have hosted a G20 summit, a BRICS summit, and COP30 international climate talks, all before heading into fiercely contested presidential elections next year, in which he is expected to run.Lula warmly welcomed leaders and dignitaries on Saturday, including China’s Premier Li Qiang, as the leftist president hosted a pre-summit business forum in Rio.”Faced with the resurgence of protectionism, it is up to emerging countries to defend the multilateral trade regime and reform the international financial architecture,” Lula told the event.Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian, whose nation is still reeling from a 12-day conflict with Israel, is also skipping the meeting and will be represented by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.A source familiar with the negotiations said Iran had sought a tougher condemnation of Israel and the United States over their recent bombing of Iranian military, nuclear and other sites. But one diplomatic source said the text would give the “same message” that BRICS delivered last month.Then Iran’s allies expressed “grave concern” about strikes against Iran, but did not explicitly mention Israel or the United States. Artificial intelligence and health will also be on the agenda at the summit.Original members of the bloc Brazil, Russia, India, and China have been joined by South Africa and, more recently, Saudi Arabia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Ethiopia and Indonesia.

Rescuers searched Saturday for 27 girls missing from a riverside summer camp in the US state of Texas, after torrential rains caused devastating flooding that killed at least 43 people — with more rain pounding the region.”We have recovered 43 deceased individuals in Kerr County. Among these who are deceased we have 28 adults and 15 children,” said Kerr Country Sheriff Larry Leitha.Leitha earlier put the number of evacuated people at 850, including eight reported injured.Addressing a press conference, Texas Governor Greg Abbott said he was expanding a state disaster declaration and was requesting additional federal resources from US President Donald Trump.Texas Department of Emergency Management chief Nim Kidd said air, ground and water-based crews were scouring the length of the Guadalupe River for survivors and the bodies of the dead.”We will continue the search until all those who are missing are found,” he said.The flooding began Friday — the start of the fourth of July holiday weekend — as months’ worth of rain fell in a matter of hours, causing the Guadalupe River to rise by 26 feet (eight meters) in 45 minutes.The National Weather Service (NWS) warned that more rain was forecast, and that “excessive runoff may result in flooding of rivers, creeks, streams, and other low-lying and flood-prone locations.”Multiple flash flood warnings remained in place over the weekend in central Texas.In Kerrville on Saturday, the usually calm Guadalupe was flowing fast, its murky waters filled with debris. “The water reached the top of the trees. About 10 meters or so,” said local resident Gerardo Martinez, 61. “Cars, whole houses were going down the river.”Flash floods, which occur when the ground is unable to absorb torrential rainfall, are not unusual.But scientists say that in recent years human-driven climate change has made extreme weather events like floods, droughts and heat waves more frequent and more intense.- Devastation at Camp Mystic -On Saturday, Sheriff Leitha said 27 children from the Camp Mystic Christian summer camp in the flooded Kerr County were still missing. Around 750 girls were enrolled at the camp.US media reported that four of the missing girls were dead, citing their families. The camp, located along the banks of the Guadalupe, was a picture of disarray, with blankets, mattresses, teddy bears and other belongings caked in mud.The windows of camp cabins were shattered, apparently by the force of the water.Michael, who only gave AFP his first name, was searching the camp for his eight-year-old daughter.”I was in Austin and drove down yesterday morning, once we heard about it,” he said, adding that he was hoping for a “miracle.”The Heart O’ The Hills summer camp, located about a mile from Camp Mystic, confirmed on Saturday that its director Jane Ragsdale was among the dead.- ‘Catastrophic’ -Department of Homeland Security head Kristi Noem told a press conference that Trump wanted to “upgrade the technologies” at the weather service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).Trump’s administration has faced criticism from scientists and disaster management agencies after cutting funding and hundreds of staff at the NOAA, in charge of weather forecasts and preparedness, and the NWS.”We need to renew this ancient system,” Noem said.When asked about claims that residents were given insufficient warning of the floods, Noem said she would “carry your concerns back to the federal government.”Officials have said the speed and level of flooding was shocking.”We didn’t know this flood was coming,” Kerr County official Rob Kelly said Friday.Kerrville city official Dalton Rice said rescuers were facing “very difficult” conditions, warning people against traveling to the site.Rice added it was not known how many people may have been visiting the popular camping area, and declined to give an overall figure for how many were missing.Soila Reyna, 55, a Kerrville resident who works at a local church helping people who lost their belongings, witnessed the devastation unfold.”It has been years since we had a flood, but nothing like this,” Reyna said. “Nothing like as catastrophic as this, where it involved children, people and just the loss of people’s houses… It’s just crazy,” she added.With rescuers fanning out across the region, Kerrville Mayor Joe Herring urged the community to come together.”People need to know today will be a hard day,” he said.burs-aha/aks/mlm

Rescuers searched Saturday for 27 girls missing from a riverside summer camp in the US state of Texas, after torrential rains caused devastating flooding that killed at least 32 people — with more rain pounding the region.”There’s 32 deceased, 18 of those are adults and 14 are children. Five of the adults remain unidentified and three children remain unidentified,” said Kerr Country Sheriff Larry Leitha.Leitha earlier put the number of evacuated people at 850, including eight reported injured.Addressing a press conference, Texas Governor Greg Abbott said he was expanding a state disaster declaration and was requesting additional federal resources from US President Donald Trump.Texas Department of Emergency Management chief Nim Kidd said air, ground and water-based crews were scouring the length of the Guadalupe River for survivors and the bodies of the dead.”We will continue the search until all those who are missing are found,” he said.The flooding began Friday as months’ worth of rain fell in a matter of hours, causing the Guadalupe River to rise by 26 feet (eight meters) in 45 minutes.The National Weather Service (NWS) warned that more rain was forecast, and that “excessive runoff may result in flooding of rivers, creeks, streams, and other low-lying and flood-prone locations.”Multiple flash flood warnings remained in place over the weekend in central Texas.In Kerrville on Saturday, the usually calm Guadalupe was flowing fast, its murky waters filled with debris. “The water reached the top of the trees. About 10 meters or so,” said local resident Gerardo Martinez, 61. “Cars, whole houses were going down the river.”Flash floods, which occur when the ground is unable to absorb torrential rainfall, are not unusual.But scientists say that in recent years human-driven climate change has made extreme weather events like floods, droughts and heat waves more frequent and more intense.- Devastation at Camp Mystic -On Saturday, Sheriff Leitha said 27 children from the Camp Mystic Christian summer camp in the flooded Kerr County were still missing. Around 750 girls were enrolled at the camp.US media reported that four of the missing girls were dead, citing their families. The camp, located along the banks of the Guadalupe, was a picture of disarray, with blankets, mattresses, teddy bears and other belongings caked in mud.The windows of camp cabins were shattered, apparently by the force of the water.Michael, who only gave AFP his first name, was searching the camp for his eight-year-old daughter.”I was in Austin and drove down yesterday morning, once we heard about it,” he said, adding that he was hoping for a “miracle”.The Heart O’ The Hills summer camp, located about a mile from Camp Mystic, confirmed on Saturday that its director Jane Ragsdale was among the dead.- ‘Catastrophic’ -Department of Homeland Security head Kristi Noem told a press conference that Trump wanted to “upgrade the technologies” at the weather service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).Trump’s administration has faced criticism from scientists and disaster management agencies after cutting funding and hundreds of staff at the NOAA, in charge of weather forecasts and preparedness, and the NWS.”We need to renew this ancient system,” Noem said.When asked about claims that residents were given insufficient warning of the floods, Noem said she would “carry your concerns back to the federal government.”Officials have said the speed and level of flooding was shocking.”We didn’t know this flood was coming,” Kerr County official Rob Kelly said Friday.Kerrville city official Dalton Rice said rescuers were facing “very difficult” conditions, warning people against traveling to the site.Rice added that it was not known how many people may have been visiting the popular camping area, and declined to give an overall figure for how many were missing.Soila Reyna, 55, a Kerrville resident who works at a local church helping people who lost their belongings, witnessed the devastation unfold.”It has been years since we had a flood, but nothing like this,” Reyna said. “Nothing like as catastrophic as this, where it involved children, people and just the loss of people’s houses… It’s just crazy,” she added.With rescuers fanning out across the region, Kerrville Mayor Joe Herring urged the community to come together.”People need to know today will be a hard day. It will be a hard day,” he said, his voice breaking.burs-aha/aks/mlm