San Francisco Frontiers - Fears grow that Texas floods death toll could still surge

More than 170 people remain unaccounted for after the flash flooding on the Fourth of July holiday, according to Texas Governor Gregg Abbott, marking a dramatic increase in the number of missing from a tragedy that has shocked Americans.

Days after torrents of river water roared through several Texas counties -- some striking in the middle of the night -- rescuers kept racing to find survivors as Abbott warned that the list of those unaccounted for could yet rise.

At a Tuesday press conference he said 161 people are known to be missing in Kerr County, the epicenter of the disaster, with 12 more unaccounted for elsewhere in the state.

"There very likely could be more added to that list," he said, adding later on X. "Right now, our #1 job is to find every single missing person."

Kerr County, part of a Hill Country region in central Texas known as "Flash Flood Alley," suffered the most damage, with at least 94 fatalities.

That includes at least 27 girls and counselors who were staying at a youth summer camp on the Guadalupe River when it burst its banks in the early hours of Friday.

Five campers and one counselor from Camp Mystic were still missing as of Tuesday evening, according to Abbot, as well as another child not associated with the camp.

Elsewhere in the state, there have been at least 15 fatalities recorded so far, the governor added.

Ben Baker, with the Texas Game Wardens, said search and rescue efforts involving helicopters, drones and dogs were extremely difficult because of the water, mud and debris.

"When we're trying to make these recoveries, these large piles can be very obstructive, and to get in deep into these piles, it's very hazardous," Baker said.

The National Weather Service (NWS) has forecast scattered storms on Wednesday in the Hill Country, including "isolated pockets of heavy rain."

In the neighboring state of New Mexico, flash flooding on Tuesday left three people dead in Ruidoso, the village said in a statement on its official website.

The NWS said the Ruidoso River may have crested more than 20 feet (six meters), based on a provisional reading. It would be a record, if confirmed.

- Bodies in the mud -

In the Texas town of Hunt, the epicenter of the disaster, an AFP team saw recovery workers combing through piles of debris with helicopters flying overhead.

Javier Torres, 24, was digging through mud as he searched for his grandmother, after having located the body of his grandfather.

He also discovered the bodies of two children, apparently washed up by the river.

President Donald Trump is due to visit Texas on Friday with First Lady Melania Trump.

"We brought in a lot of helicopters from all over.... They were real pros, and they were responsible for pulling out a lot of people," Trump said.

Meanwhile, questions intensified over whether Trump's government funding cuts had weakened warning systems, and over the handling of the rescue operation.

During a sometimes tense news conference, Baker skirted a question on the speed of the emergency response.

"Right now, this team up here is focused on bringing people home," the Game Wardens official said.

Shel Winkley, a weather expert at the Climate Central research group, blamed the extent of the disaster on geography and exceptional drought, when dry soil absorbs less rainfall.

"This part of Texas, at least in the Kerr County flood specifically, was in an extreme to exceptional drought.... We know that since May, temperatures have been above average," Winkley told reporters.

The organization's media director, Tom Di Liberto, said NWS staffing shortages had contributed to the disaster.

"You can't necessarily replace that experience," he said.

G.Miller--SFF