Texas Governor Gregg Abbott warned residents of the state to expect more storms to pose a danger to parts of central Texas over the next 24-48 hours. Abbott made the comments at the start of a Sunday press conference held in Austin to inform residents of the latest news regarding the devastating Independence Day floods that have resulted in the deaths of nearly 70 people.
Abbott’s comments follow emergency crews from local, state, and federal agencies working around the clock to conduct search and rescue operations on foot, by vehicle, and in the air. Civilian rescue groups also assisted police and fire department personnel. Governor Abbott said 41 people were missing in addition to the 11 girls still missing from the Camp Mystic tragedy. As reported by Breitbart Texas, Abbott expects the number may rise over the coming days.
Abbott advised residents to be mindful that the areas impacted by floods in the Central Texas region are water-logged and saturated, making the impacts of any rainfall over the coming days more dangerous to residents from the San Angelo Concho Valley and other areas surrounding the Guadalupe River.
Abbott emphasized the point, saying, “If you’re in any of those regions, you need to realize, for one, you’re in an area that is already saturated with water, but for another, when more water comes down, it could lead to rapid flash flooding events.”
According to the Governor, he does not believe the danger includes additional flooding to the extent experienced in Kerrville, Texas, but cautioned residents nonetheless about the life-threatening danger posed by the current forecast for more rain in the affected areas.
Abbott held the press briefing in Austin, rather than in Kerrville, explaining to attendees that the storm impact area had grown beyond just the Kerr County area and had impacted other cities and counties in the Central Texas Hill Country region. Abbott clarified the move did not lessen the efforts underway in Kerrville to search for survivors, saying, “I want to emphasize, however, even though we are now broadening the area that we are focused on, we are not at all reducing our focus on Kerrville.”
According to the National Weather Service, a flash flood watch remains in effect through Sunday evening for much of Central Texas, with rainfall amounts of 2-4 inches with isolated pockets of 10 inches somewhere in the watch area.
As of Sunday afternoon, the Texas Military Department has conducted more tha 525 rescues or evacuations in the impacted area according to Major General Thomas Suelzer.
The Central Texas Hill Country is home to numerous state, local, and private owned parks and campgrounds. Several campgrounds and RV-parks were left totally destroyed by the devastating flooding that struck the region over the July 4th Independence Day weekend.
Randy Clark is a 32-year veteran of the United States Border Patrol. Before his retirement, he served as the Division Chief for Law Enforcement Operations, directing operations for nine Border Patrol Stations within the Del Rio, Texas, Sector. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @RandyClarkBBTX.
Bob Price is the Breitbart Texas-Border team’s associate editor and senior news contributor. He is an original member of the Breitbart Texas team. Price is a regular panelist on Fox 26 Houston’s What’s Your Point? Sunday morning talk show. He is a U.S. Air Force veteran and serves as president of Blue Wonder Gun Care Products.
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