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At least 78 people are dead after flooding over the weekend that swept through central Texas, where the search continues for 11 missing from a girls' camp.

Speaking at a news conference Sunday, Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said of the 68 deceased in his county, 40 are adults and 28 are children. There are 10 children and one counselor missing from Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp next to the Guadalupe River.

Earlier on Sunday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott had put the total number of dead at 69.

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The updated figures came just hours after President Trump said on his social media platform that he had signed a disaster declaration to give more resources to Kerr County. Later, he told reporters that he would likely visit the state on Friday.

"These families are enduring an unimaginable tragedy, with many lives lost, and many still missing," Trump wrote.

Officials earlier said that some of those at Camp Mystic may be stranded and unable to call for help.

Abbott said during a Sunday afternoon news conference that in areas affected by flooding across the state, 41 people were missing, though he conceded there could be many others who are unaccounted for that authorities don't know about.

The governor has also said that the state is committing all the necessary resources to continue with a search and rescue mission, including members of the Texas National Guard and state troopers.

He issued a disaster declaration for several counties in the area of the state known as the Hill Country, about 70 miles north of San Antonio. Abbott expanded the disaster declaration on Saturday to add more counties impacted by flooding and signed a disaster declaration requesting assistance from the federal government.

Speaking on Saturday, he said that he has instructed every state agency involved with search and rescue to "assume everybody missing is alive" and warned "every minute counts."

W. Nim Kidd, chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management, said Saturday afternoon that officials are still "actively searching" for people alive but that those efforts "will turn into recovery at some point." 

Officials say more than 850 people have been rescued so far, and many of them were rescued by helicopters. Texas officials say some of the areas affected remain without power or internet access.

At an earlier briefing, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said more than 500 responders and 14 helicopters were deployed to find anyone who is trapped in the inundated area.

"We have deployed a number of personnel to multiple locations throughout the Texas Hill Country to assist with search and rescue efforts," Patrick said, noting that the region is popular for summer camps, including one for hundreds of girls. He said the state's emphasis is to locate unaccounted for teenagers.

Within 45 minutes, the flood water rose by 26 feet "taking property and sadly lives," he said. He added that the region got 12 inches or more of rain per hour.

Over the weekend at an elementary school in Kerrville, which served as a reunification center, hundreds of people waited for news from their relatives. Some parents were able to meet with their children, but some have yet to hear from their kids. 

That's the case of Tanya Powell. Her 21-year-old daughter Ella Rose was still missing. "She was near the camp at a house with three of their friends, they are college seniors in San Antonio. They were here for the weekend and we lost touch with them about 4 a.m. and haven't gotten any word from them," Powell said.

One of the summer camps affected, Camp Mystic, is an all-girls Christian summer camp that has been operating in the area for nearly 100 years.

Angela Trafton's granddaughter was attending camp when rain began pouring during the night. The girl survived, but Trafton was left shaken by the ordeal. 

"We're so grateful," she said, barely able to speak through her tears. "This is her seventh year [as a camper]. I don't know that she'll ever come back now."

On Friday, the National Weather Service issued a hazard weather warning. In a statement, the NWS warned, "Flooding caused by excessive rainfall continues to be possible." The agency said an additional 1 to 3 inches of rain could fall across the region, but that "isolated spots in the Hill Country could see up to 5 inches."

The NWS explained the extreme rainfall is being caused by a moist tropical air mass combined with a slow moving storm system in counties across south central Texas.

KSAT News meteorologist Sarah Spivey in San Antonio said that the "rain bomb" the area is currently experiencing is typical in the aftermath of years-long droughts like those in the affected counties.

"You know, we're in a multi-year drought here in this area, and if you've been in this area long enough, you know even in 1987 there was a flood very similar to the one that is happening right now," 

. "Our droughts tend to end with these rain bombs in the summer months, and it's just something that we have to prepare for over and over again in the future."

Climate change is driving more extreme rainfall events across most of the U.S., making dangerous flooding more likely. A warmer atmosphere can hold more moisture, or water vapor, leading to heavier downpours. In Texas, the heaviest rainstorms now drop about 20% more rain than they did in the late 1950s, according to the National Climate Assessment.

Spivey also pointed to the terrain of the region, which is more susceptible to flood damage.

"It's called the Hill Country for a reason. Winding hills and a river, Guadalupe River, that runs through these hills onto limestone, so there's not much area for the water to soak into," she said.

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Speaking at a news conference Sunday, Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said of the 68 deceased in his county, 40 are adults and 28 are children. There are 10 children and one counselor missing from Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp next to the Guadalupe River.


At least 78 dead and dozens missing after catastrophic Texas flooding

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