KERRVILLE, Texas (AP) — Hundreds prayed, wept and held one another at a Texas prayer service for the 120 people who died in catastrophic flash floods and the many more reported missing.
While search crews and volunteers pushed ahead with recovering those unaccounted for, communities in the devastated Hill Country region are just beginning to grieve those lost over the July Fourth holiday.
Mourners gathered Wednesday night at Tivy High School’s stadium, where they had celebrated victories and suffered losses on the field, said Ricky Pruitt, of the Kerrville Church of Christ.
“Tonight is very different than all of those nights,” he said. Among those who died was the school’s soccer coach.
Many wore blue shirts with the school’s slogan, “Tivy Fight Never Die,” and green ribbons for Camp Mystic, the century-old all-girls Christian summer camp where at least 27 campers and counselors died. Officials said five campers and one counselor have still not been found.
More than 170 people are believed to be missing across central Texas, most in Kerr County, where nearly 100 victims have been recovered.
Authorities say they have carefully gone over the list of those unaccounted for but those numbers are often tough to pin down in the immediate aftermath of a disaster.
Parents of children who were at the many summer camps in Hill Country have credited the teenage counselors with ushering campers to safety and helping keeping them calm during the chaos.
The catastrophe is the deadliest inland flooding in the U.S. since 1976, when Colorado’s Big Thompson Canyon flooded, killing 144 people, said Bob Henson, a meteorologist with Yale Climate Connections.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott called on state lawmakers to approve funding for new warning systems and emergency communications in flood prone areas when the Legislature meets later this month. Abbott also asked for financial relief for the response and recovery efforts.
“We must ensure better preparation for such events in the future,” he said in a statement Wednesday.
Public officials in the area have come under repeated criticism amid questions about the timeline of what happened and why widespread warnings were not sounded and more preparations were not made.
Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha has said those questions will be answered after the victims are recovered.
Local leaders have talked for years about the need for a flood warning system, but concerns about costs and noise led to missed opportunities to put up sirens.
President Donald Trump has pledged to provide whatever relief Texas needs to recover and is planning to visit the state Friday.
Polls taken before the floods show Americans largely believe the federal government should play a major role in preparing for and responding to natural disasters.
Catastrophic flooding is a growing worry. On Tuesday, a deluge in New Mexico triggered flash floods that killed three people.
After the ceremony in Kerrville on Wednesday, children and families mingled on the field, and some students formed prayer circles. Counselors and therapists were also on hand.
Andrew Brown, who wanted to pay tribute to the school’s soccer coach, said he believes a warning system with sirens would be helpful.
“I’m sure there are things that could have been different, and I’m sure there will be going forward,” he said.
David Garza drove more than an hour to support loved ones affected by the floods.
“I’m from here, and I was here in the ’78 flood and the ’87 flood,” Garza said. “I just wanted to be a part of this.”
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Associated Press writers John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio; Jim Vertuno in Austin, Texas; and John Hanna in Topeka, Kansas, contributed to this report.
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