Texas flooding updates: Over 130 dead as flash flood threat increases in Texas
Kerr County was hit the hardest, with at least 106 deaths.
Over 130 people are dead from the devastating flooding in the Texas Hill Country.
Kerr County was hit the hardest, with at least 106 deaths, including 36 children. President Donald Trump signed a disaster declaration for the county and the Federal Emergency Management Agency is on the ground there.
Search and rescue operations are ongoing.
Key Headlines
- Kerrville Police Department suspends search operations due to current flood danger
- Life-threatening flash flooding ongoing in Kerr and Gillespie Counties
- Flash flood threat increases for parts of Central Texas
- Flash flooding emergency ongoing in central Texas' Colorado Bend State Park
- Navy SEALs help with search and recovery efforts after Texas floods
Over 100 dead in Texas
Over 100 people have died from flooding in Texas.
The vast majority of the fatalities -- 84 -- were in Kerr County.
Deaths have also been confirmed in Travis, Williamson, Burnet, Tom Green and Kendall counties.
There have been over 850 high-water rescues, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said.
"Texas will come through this," Cruz said at a news conference.
-ABC News' Vanessa Navarrete and Abigail Shalawylo
Flash flood warnings issued night before, NWS had 'surge staffing'
Questions have swirled around if there was enough warning and enough staffing for the early Friday morning floods in the wake of the Trump administration's job cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
But NOAA confirmed that the National Weather Service's Austin/San Antonio office had five meteorologists working the severe weather event as part of its "surge staffing" protocol. It is normally staffed with two.
NOAA also said the NWS had forecast briefings Thursday morning, issued a flood watch Thursday afternoon and then issued flash flood warnings on Thursday night and early Friday. This gave "preliminary lead times of more than three hours before flash flooding conditions occurred," NOAA said in a statement.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Monday, "Blaming President Trump for these floods is a depraved lie, and it serves no purpose during this time of national mourning."
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said Monday, "Some people [are] engaging in partisan games and trying to blame their political opponents for a natural disaster."
"I think most normal Americans know that's ridiculous and I think this is not a time for partisan finger pointing and attacks," he said.
“I think it is reasonable, over time, to engage in a retrospective and say, at every level, what could have been done better, because all of us would want to prevent this horrific loss of life," he said.
Chuck Schumer, the Senate's top Democrat, is calling for an investigation into whether cuts made to NWS had any correlation to the level of devastation.
-ABC News’ Lalee Ibssa
How you can help
The American Red Cross is one of several organizations assisting with victim support, shelter and supplies.
Click here for more information on ways you can help.
Flood threat increasing in Texas
Parts of central Texas are now under a level 3 out of 4 threat for flash flooding.
Kerr County, which was hit hard by this weekend’s rain, is just to the east, outside the zone preparing for this new flash flooding.
More than 5 inches of rain is possible and rainfall rates could climb to 3 inches per hour, overwhelming the already very saturated soil.
The rain is situated over a region colloquially known as "Flash Flood Alley," which is prone to flash flood events that are exacerbated by the region's steep terrain and shallow soil.
-ABC News’ Kyle Reiman