Floods still a big risk

THE risk of life-threatening flooding was still high in areas of the United States state of Texas yesterday, as emergency personnel searched for people still missing following a weekend deluge that killed at least 82 people.

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Operators of Camp Mystic, a century-old children’s summer camp in the Texas Hill Country, said yesterday that they had lost 27 campers and counsellors, confirming their worst fears after a wall of water slammed into cabins built along the edge of the Guadalupe River.

“We have been in communication with local and state authorities who are tirelessly deploying extensive resources to search for our missing girls,” the camp stated.

Residents of Kerr County began clearing mud and salvaging what they could from their demolished properties as they recounted harrowing escapes from rapidly rising floodwaters late last Friday.