Texas’ Hill Country region experienced major flooding on July 4 as the Guadalupe River reached massive heights from heavy rain
Some girls from a local Christian summer camp have reportedly been unaccounted for, according to camp directors
“We didn’t know this flood was coming,” a Kerr County official said at a press conference
An unspecified number of girls who were staying at a summer camp in Texas are reported to be missing in the wake of “catastrophic” flooding when heavy rain fell overnight.
CBS affiliate KEYE, ABC affiliate KSAT and the San Antonio Express-News reported on Friday, July 4, that the girls had gone missing from Camp Mystic, a Christian girls-only summer camp on the Guadalupe River. The camp sits west of Kerrville in Kerr County.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who has taken on the duties of acting governor, said 23 of Camp Mystic’s 750 campers are currently unaccounted for, according to ABC affiliate Eyewitness News.
Two directors from the camp had reportedly asked for help and said some of the children were unaccounted for, per the Express-News, adding that the cabins were flooded and may have been washed away. They also said the roads have been affected by the flooding and that they need urgent assistance.
PEOPLE contacted Camp Mystic for comment. The camp previously sent an email to families informing them of the situation, which was later shared by KEYE.
“If you have not been personally contacted, then your daughter is accounted for,” the email read. “We are working with search and rescue currently. The highway has washed away so [we] are struggling to get more help.”
KEYE reported that an official said they “can’t say for sure that they’re all accounted for,” adding, “We know that there are some missing. We know where some of them are and stranded.”
The flooding resulted in the overnight evacuation of Camp Mystic in an area that received about six to 10 inches of rain, KSAT reported. A viewer submitted a photo to the TV station that showed campers wading through ankle-deep water.
The Kerr County Sheriff’s Office deemed the event “catastrophic flooding.” Eyewitness News reported that the sheriff said 13 people are confirmed dead so far as a result of the flooding.
At a press conference on Friday, Judge Kelly said that no one knew how severe the flooding turned out to be.
“We didn’t know this flood was coming,” Kelly said, per KEYE. “Rest assured, no one knew this kind of flood was coming. We had no reason to believe that this was going to be anything like what’s happened here. None whatsoever.”
Kerr County is part of Texas’ Hill Country region. In a Friday statement about the flooding, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said the state “is providing all necessary resources to Kerrville, Ingram, Hunt and the entire Texas Hill Country dealing with these devastating floods.”
“The State of Texas today has mobilized additional resources in addition to the resources sent in preparation for the storms,” he continued. “I urge Texans to heed guidance from state and local officials and monitor local forecasts to avoid driving into flooded areas.”
The City of Kerrville said in a Facebook post on Friday that the heavy rain and flooding will continue “across the southern Edwards Plateau and Hill Country for the rest of today.” Areas in those regions could experience one to three more inches of rain through 7 p.m., local time, it added.