Four days after catastrophic flash floods swept central Texas, search operations for the missing persist along the Guadalupe River, which surged from 2.3 meters to 9 meters within just three hours early Friday, marking the second-highest level on record.
The disaster has left Texas reeling, with the death toll rising to 104 and dozens still missing as of Monday.
Among the 20 affected counties, Kerr County suffered the most devastation, accounting for 84 of the fatalities, including 28 children.
Hundreds of search teams are combing a vast 100-kilometer stretch of riverbanks, where discoveries of clothing or personal items prompt cadaver dogs and officials to take charge, ensuring a focused search operation.
Amid the massive search efforts, volunteer Sunny White shared a personal account of her relentless quest to find a missing friend.
"We are still actively looking for our friend who is missing, but we have got his name on a lot of lists, and we have been going around all the ERs and hospitals and Red Cross to get his name out there. So he was at the campground just down here where you can see him pulling stuff out. He was camping in a trailer. We found the trailer was wrapped around a tree the other day and just discovered his car yesterday and confirmed that. So his belongings are starting to wash up today, so my parents are going to go collect that. But we haven't heard anything from him. We heard someone on Facebook that was camping over there with him and saw him alive in a tree, clinging on around 4:30 or 5:00 AM the day of the floods, and we haven't heard anything since then," she said.
She shared how deeply the search efforts have weighed on her family.
"At this point, no. We're starting to prep for that. It's my dad's coworker. It's one of his best friends, so we're just holding a lot of room for that. Still looking, but it's hard to maintain hope right now," White added.
Meanwhile, more than 800 people have been rescued or evacuated since this disaster began. Others are still looking for friends and loved ones.
According to media reports, the flood struck suddenly in the early hours of the morning and warnings were issued relatively late. As the disaster unfolded during the night, many residents - particularly those living in low-lying areas along the riverbanks - were unable to respond in time and did not evacuate promptly.
Furthermore, it has come to light that in April this year, the local meteorological disaster warning officer in Kerr County resigned, leaving several key positions unfilled.
Search, rescue efforts persist into 4th day as dozens remain missing in Texas floods
