Death toll from Texas floods hits 67, including 21 children

The death toll from catastrophic floods in Texas reached at least 67 on Sunday, including 21 children, as the search for girls missing from a summer camp entered a third day.

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Larry Leitha, the Kerr County Sheriff in Texas Hill Country, the epicentre of the flooding, said the death toll in Kerr County had reached 59, including the 21 children.

Leitha said 11 girls and a counsellor remained missing from a summer 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.

A Travis County official said four people had died from the flooding there, with 13 unaccounted for, and officials reported another death in Kendall County. The Burnet County Sheriff's office reported two fatalities. A woman was found dead in her submerged car in the city of San Angelo in Tom Green County, the police chief said.

Leitha said there were 18 adults and four children still pending identification in Kerr County. He did not say if those 22 individuals were included in the death count of 59.

Officials said on Saturday that more than 850 people had been rescued, including some clinging to trees, after a sudden storm dumped up to 15 inches (38 cm) of rain across the region, about 85 miles (140 km) northwest of San Antonio. It was unclear exactly how many people in the area were still missing. “Everyone in the community is hurting,” Leitha told reporters.