Heavy rains in Texas pause search efforts for flood victims and damage homes elsewhere

KERRVILLE Texas AP More heavy rains in Texas on Sunday temporarily paused a weeklong search for sufferers of catastrophic flooding along the Guadalupe River and led to dozens of high-water rescues elsewhere as storms damaged homes stranded motorists and put specific residents under evacuation orders It was the first time a new round of severe weather had paused the search since the July Fourth holiday floods which killed at least people Officers believe more than people may still be missing in Kerr County alone and more in neighboring areas In Kerrville where local personnel have come under scrutiny over whether residents were adequately warned about the rising water in the early morning hours of July executives went door-to-door to specific homes after midnight early Sunday to alert people that flooding was again achievable Agents also pushed phone alerts to those in the area By late Sunday afternoon the Kerr County Sheriff s Office declared that search teams in the western part of that county could resume their efforts But more than miles kilometers north in San Saba County the floods damaged about homes and knocked down untold lengths of cattle fencing explained Ashley Johnson CEO of the Hill Country Area Action Association a local nonprofit Anything you can imagine in a rural public was damaged she commented Our blessing is it was daylight and we knew it was coming Latest flooding damages dozens of homes Gov Greg Abbott mentioned on X that the state was making rescues in San Saba Lampasas and Schleicher counties and that evacuations were taking place in a handful of others Texas Task Force a joint state and federal urban search and rescue company had rescued dozens of people in the Lampasas area Abbott announced County administrators ordered everyone living in flood-prone areas near the San Saba River to evacuate Johnson announced people were being moved to the San Saba Civic Center which has become a safe high place for people to receive aid and shelter Everyone is in chosen way personally affected by this she commented Everyone is just doing what they can to help their neighbors A wide-ranging weather system brings heavy rains The weather system brought multiple rounds of heavy rains and slow-moving storms across a widespread area pushing rivers and streams over their banks Exigency crews rescued one motorist who was left stranded in waist-high rapids on a submerged bridge over the Bosque River and leaned onto the bicycle for sponsorship as crews tried to reach him with life jackets He drove into it and didn t realize how deep it was stated Jeff Douglas president of the McGregor Volunteer Fire Department Luckily he was able to stand next to the motorcycle In the west Texas city of Sonora officials called for evacuations of chosen neighborhoods due to rising flood waters In a video posted Sunday afternoon on Facebook Mayor Juanita Gomez noted specific water rescues had taken place and a temporary shelter for residents had been opened in the city s civic center Kerrville residents get assistance from police alerts Under heavy rain Matthew Stone was clearing branches and a log from a storm sewer in front of his home on Guadalupe Street in Kerrville on Sunday as several inches of water pooled up on the road Multiple houses on the street overlooking the Guadalupe River were severely impacted by the July floods and Stone had to pull his older neighbors from their home before water overtook it He explained he felt safe for now My wife was freaking out that s for sure but as long as that river is not coming down we ll be all right he explained The cops have been coming back and forth we re getting lots of alerts we re getting a lot of backing In nearby Ingram fire department spokesman Brian Lochte stated search and rescue efforts would resume Monday morning Just before daybreak on the Fourth of July the destructive fast-moving waters rose feet meters on the Guadalupe River washing away homes and vehicles Ever since searchers have used helicopters boats and drones to look for casualties and to rescue people stranded in trees and from camps isolated by washed-out roads The floods laid waste to the Hill Country region of Texas The riverbanks and hills of Kerr County are filled with vacation cabins youth camps and campgrounds including Camp Mystic the century-old all-girls Christian summer camp Located in a low-lying area along the Guadalupe River in a region known as flash flood alley Camp Mystic lost at least campers and counselors The flood was far more severe than the -year event envisioned by the Federal Emergency Management Agency experts reported and moved so briskly in the middle of the night that it caught countless off guard in a county that lacked a warning system Associated Press reporters Sophia Tareen in Chicago Carolyn Thompson in Buffalo New York Juan Lozano in Houston and Michael Weissenstein in Dobbs Ferry New York contributed to this review