After weeks of search and rescue efforts following deadly flash floods, officials in Texas’s Kerr County said Saturday that the number of people still missing had dropped to just three.
As many as 160 people were reported missing in the days after flash floods caused the Guadalupe River to rise drastically over the July 4 weekend, killing 116 people in Kerr County, the epicenter of the devastating floods.
“Through extensive follow-up work among state and local agencies, many individuals who were initially reported as missing have been verified as safe and removed from the list. This has been an ongoing effort as investigators worked diligently to verify reports of missing persons and confirm their status,” local officials said in a press release.
About 100 people were still reported missing at the beginning of the week.
“We are profoundly grateful to the more than 1,000 local, state and federal authorities who have worked tirelessly in the wake of the devastating flood that struck our community,” Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice said in the release.
The natural disaster has prompted questions about the preparedness of local and federal officials.
The New York Times reported that local authorities had weighed installing a warning system along the banks of the Guadalupe and were particularly concerned about youth camps situated along the river.
On multiple occasions, however, they decided against the move due to cost, or were not able to secure sufficient federal funding to make it happen.
CNN and The Washington Post also reported that the federal government’s response may have been slowed by a policy requiring the Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to sign off on contracts or purchases over $100,000.
Noem fired back at press reports of a poor response in Texas, saying during a previous “Fox and Friends” appearance that the reports were “fake news” and “absolute trash.”
Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin also denounced claims of slow response as “lies” and “an unparalleled display of activist journalism” in a previous statement to The Hill.
