Texas floods leave at least 59 dead

THE DEATH TOLL from catastrophic floods in Texas reached 59 on Sunday, including 21 children, law enforcement said, as the search for girls missing from a summer camp entered a third day.

- REUTERS Texas, July 6

Larry Leitha, the Kerr County Sheriff in Texas Hill Country, the epicenter of the flooding, said 11 girls and a counselor remained missing from a camp near the Guadalupe River, which broke its banks after torrential rain fell in the central Texas area on Friday, the US Independence Day holiday.

Officials said on Saturday that more than 850 people had been rescued, including some clinging to trees, after a sudden storm dumped up to 38 cm of rain across the region, about 140 km northwest of San Antonio.

It was unclear exactly how many people in the area were still missing.