LAST UPDATE | 7 Jul

RESCUERS IN TEXAS searched for bodies swept away by flash floods that killed more than 90 people, including 27 girls and counsellors at a summer camp destroyed by torrents of water.

The United States was shocked at the disaster over the Fourth of July holiday weekend, and forecasters warned of more flooding as rain falls on saturated ground.

“Our hearts are broken alongside our families that are enduring this unimaginable tragedy,” Camp Mystic said in a statement confirming the 27 deaths at the all-girls camp, located next to a river.

The White House today put the overall number of dead from the flooding at 91, while Texas Senator Ted Cruz told reporters that the toll was continuing to rise.

“Texas is grieving right now – the pain, the shock of what has transpired these last few days has broken the heart of our state,” Cruz told reporters.

“The children, little girls, who were lost at Camp Mystic, that’s every parent’s nightmare.”

Rescuers will continue with their search for those reported missing, which includes 10 girls and a counsellor from an all-girls summer camp. Texas Governor Greg Abbott said 41 people were unaccounted for across the state and more could be missing.

At least 68 people have been found dead in Hill County, home to many summer camps.

Ten other deaths were reported in Travis, Burnet, Kendall, Tom Green and Williamson counties, according to local officials.

Officials are seen in the Guadalupe River as they assist in recovery efforts. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

The governor warned that additional rounds of heavy rain continuing overnight could produce more dangerous flooding, especially in places already saturated.

Authorities have faced questions about whether enough warnings were issued in an area long vulnerable to flooding, and whether enough preparations were made.

President Donald Trump is planning to visit Texas on Friday, the White House said, as it slammed critics claiming his cuts to weather agencies had weakened warning systems.

“Blaming President Trump for these floods is a depraved lie, and it serves no purpose during this time of national mourning,” Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters today.

She said the National Weather Service, which the New York Times reported had several key roles in Texas unfilled before the floods, issued “timely and precise forecasts and warnings.”

Trump has described the floods in the early hours of Friday as a “100-year catastrophe” that “nobody expected.”

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The president, who previously said disaster relief should be handled at the state level, has signed a major disaster declaration, activating fresh federal funds and freeing up resources.

Residents began clearing mud and salvaging belongings from their homes yesterday. Some recounted harrowing escapes from rapidly rising floodwaters late on Friday evening.

Reagan Brown said his parents, in their 80s, managed to escape uphill as water entered their home in the town of Hunt. When the couple learned that their 92-year-old neighbour was trapped in her attic, they went back and rescued her.

“Then they were able to reach their toolshed up higher ground, and neighbours throughout the early morning began to show up at their toolshed, and they all rode it out together,” Brown said.

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