Texas flood threat halts search for victims of deadly July 4 flooding

Emergency crews were able to resume some recovery efforts after being forced to suspend search operations in Kerr County, Texas, on Sunday, as the area hit hardest by catastrophic flash flooding earlier this month faced a renewed flood threat.

The Kerr County sheriff's office said recovery efforts could resume in the western part of Kerr County at around 3 p.m. local time.

Evacuations underway across central Texas

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Sunday afternoon that rescue operations were underway in San Saba, Lampasas and Schleicher Counties.

Evacuations are also ongoing in several Central Texas counties as authorities monitor rising water in Kerrville, the hardest-hit city in Kerr County by the destructive July 4 storms that caused the Guadalupe River to overflow. Officials in Texas' rural and flood-prone Hill Country have said at least 161 people from the area remain missing and efforts to find them are ongoing.

Abbott said on social media later Sunday that "dozens" of people had been rescued in the Lampasas area.

Flooding prompts pause in Kerrville search

The serious threat unfolding in San Saba County is along the San Saba River, another area known to flood. Rains from this weekend — on top of the already soaked ground — were forecast to raise the river above 30 inches. The river is forecast to rise faster and higher than it did on July 4.

Police in Kerrville announced that ground search operations had been paused before 8 a.m. local time Sunday due to "flood danger."

"We will provide more information soon but for now, all search crews need to evacuate the river corridor until further notice. Any volunteer search parties in the Guadalupe River corridor need to heed this warning," the police department wrote in a social media post. "The potential for a flash flood is high."

Flash Flood Warnings issued as river rises

The department also shared an emergency weather alert that warned of "a high probability of the Guadalupe River at Hunt reaching flood stage today." It urged people, equipment and vehicles to move away from the water immediately.

Hunt was the site of particularly disastrous flooding early in the morning on July 4, with officials saying the river swelled more than 20 feet in less than an hour and ultimately killed at least 103 people countywide, including dozens of children at a riverside summer camp called Camp Mystic.

A flash flood warning was issued for parts of Kerr County on Sunday morning, along with other pockets of Central Texas. The Austin-San Antonio branch of the National Weather Service issued the warning as thunderstorms began to dump heavy rain over the area, and rainfall was expected to continue at a rate of 1 to 2.5 inches per hour, according to the forecast bulletin. The Weather Service noted that flash flooding was "ongoing or expected to begin shortly."

The warning expired at 12:15 p.m. local time. A flood watch remained in effect until 9 a.m. Monday.

Officials warn against travel, urge caution

"This is a dangerous and life-threatening situation. Do not attempt to travel unless you are fleeing an area subject to flooding or under an evacuation order," the city of Kerrville wrote in another social media post, while the Weather Service emphasized that people should exercise serious caution around "low water crossings," which are small bridges built close to the surface of the Guadalupe River. 

Kerr County officials said last week that the crossings easily flood, as they did on the morning of July 4, trapping people on small "islands" of dry land and making it very difficult for emergency responders to reach them. 

More than 160 missing, death toll rises

Although Kerr County suffered the most tragedy as a result of the inundation more than a week ago, several other counties across Central Texas felt its impacts, too. Including Kerr County, the death toll statewide has grown to at least 132, and 166 more are unaccounted for, according to the latest information from local officials. 

The subsequent search for those missing among the debris has been massive. Volunteers, drones and search dogs joined the operation as crews from local, state and federal agencies probed on the ground, through the water and overhead in the air in hopes of uncovering anyone still lost. Difficult weather and harsh terrain have intermittently complicated their efforts, officials said. 

On Friday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott again expanded his federal disaster declaration to include more counties imperiled by the flooding.