Number of missing in deadly Texas floods drops to 3
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More than 130 people are dead after devastating flooding in the Texas Hill Country that began early on the Fourth of July.
Eight-year-old girls at sleep-away camp, families crammed into recreational vehicles, local residents traveling to or from work. These are some of the victims.
Digital Producer Danika Young hosts a daily live show where she addresses today’s top trending stories on social media and kwtx.com.
As I sit down to write this piece, the death toll in Texas has reached 135, with many more than that missing and presumed dead. A national tragedy brought about by biblical-like flooding that took unprepared young and old alike.
More than a week after deadly floods struck Central Texas, search and rescue teams are continuing to probe debris for those still missing.
By all accounts, forecasters provided adequate warning — the problem was communicating the danger to residents.
At least 120 people have been found dead since heavy rainfall overwhelmed the river and flowed through homes and youth camps in the early morning hours of July 4. Ninety-six of those killed were in the hardest-hit county in central Texas, Kerr County, where the toll includes at least 36 children.
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Texas Flood Donations Are Becoming a Culture-War Casualty
This has played out on social platforms as well, prompting some liberal commentators to speak out against the dehumanization of Texas communities. Political trolling online is nothing new, but its spillover into blaming victims and survivors of disaster is a dangerous new low.
The Economist/YouGov poll surveyed nearly 1,680 U.S. adults this week, and 52% blamed lack of government preparation for most of the deaths, mainly centered in Kerr County along the Guadalupe River.
The deaths of children at Camp Mystic show a heartbreaking failure of local, state and federal government to invest in people, prepare for disasters.