Texas flooding live: Over 160 missing and at least 109 dead as full scale of the disaster becomes clear – UK Times

The Texas Division of Emergency Management said in an X post Monday night, “Texas responders continue working day and night supporting impacted communities.”

Leigh-Anne Aiken was staying in a cabin along the Guadalupe River on July 4 when water started rushing in.

Aiken told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins she thought she was hearing “storm noises,” adding she has “profound hearing loss.”

She called her neighbor and he rescued her and her two dogs.

 “By the time he got to me, it’s maybe 200 yards, but by the time he got to me, the water was already to my knees,” Aiken recalled.

She said the water “ rose from our ankles to our waist in less than probably 15 minutes,” adding it was “really terrifying.”

A bridge in the hard-hit Kerr County has reopened after flash flooding on July 4.

“The Lemos Bridge on FM 394 is now open to traffic,” the Texas Department of Transportation’s San Antonio District wrote on Facebook Monday night. “TxDOT crews have been working for the past few days to clear debris and make the bridge safe for drivers.”

Governor Greg Abbott shared photos from his day of surveying the flood damage and hosting a press conference in Central Texas.

“Right now, our #1 job is to find every single missing person. We will not leave until that job is done,” Abbott wrote on X.

Several rescues took place following flash floods in New Mexico, as a man and two children were washed away on Tuesday.

“A DANGEROUS situation is unfolding in RUIDOSO! A FLASH FLOOD EMERGENCY remains in effect!” the NWS Albuquerque said at 5 p.m. E.T. on Tuesday. “Do NOT attempt to drive through the floodwaters. The current will carry away your vehicle!”

The flooding emergency in New Mexico comes as the death toll following flash floods in Texas has risen to more than 100 people. More than 160 people remain missing there.

In a local storm report at 5.50 p.m., the National Weather Service said multiple rescue missions had started at Gavilan Trailer Park in Ruidoso, and another person was trapped in high water.

Read more from Gustaf Kilander:

Spencer Offenbacker and Corey Jones live about 200 yards from the Guadalupe River, which was flooded on July 4.

“ By the time I realized what was going on, the water was already at our door,” Jones told CNN’s Anderson Cooper.

The couple grabbed their two kids and headed for the roof where they stayed for about two hours.

Offenbacker, an Iraq combat veteran, said their home is “completely destroyed” and the flooding aftermath “looks like a war zone.”

A GoFundMe page dedicated to helping the family rebuild their lives reads: “They are thankful for their lives but grieving the loss their family and community is navigating.”

Sergeant Jonathan Lamb, Kerrville police community services officer, told CNN’s Erin Burnett about the heroic efforts by his fellow officers who “performed under life-threatening conditions” to rescue people in “chest-deep” water.

“Our Kerrville Police Department team performed under life-threatening conditions. Our officers responded to the flooding event…and they, for hours, were wading through thigh-deep, waist-deep, chest-deep water rescuing people from cars, from campers…evacuating people from homes and apartments, risking their own lives to save others,” Lamb said.

Camp Mystic, an all-girls Christian summer camp on the riverbank, confirmed 27 girls and staff members had been killed in flash flooding that swept through Central Texas on July 4.

Here are some photos of the aftermath:

The owner of an R.V. park along the Guadalupe River that flooded on July 4 told The New York Times, “It’s impossible to tell how many people are missing.”

Lorena Guillen said she knows how many people were registered to stay at the park on the night of July 3, but others were camping in wild areas nearby.

At a press conference earlier, Governor Greg Abbott said 161 were known to still be missing.