Heavy rain and a new wave of flooding in central Texas on Sunday prompted swift water rescues and hampered the grim search for victims of the deluge that swept through the region more than a week ago, killing over 100 people and leaving devastation in its wake.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said water rescues were taking place in San Saba, Lampasas and Schleicher counties, and evacuations were ordered in several communities as well. "We are expanding operations in all affected counties − all while monitoring the rising waters in Kerrville," he said on X.

All search and recovery operations along the Guadalupe River in Kerr County were suspended. Rescue personnel, equipment and vehicles "should be removed from the river area immediately," county officials said in social media posts earlier Sunday. It warned that up to 2-4 inches of rain an hour could fall. "Safety of lives is the highest priority."

The city of Kerrville posted video on social media of water rushing across streets Sunday. The National Weather Service warned that locally heavy rainfall of 2-4 inches − isolated areas could possibly be overwhelmed with another 9-12 inches −could lead to flash flooding. The flood watch was in effect until 7 p.m. local time Sunday.

In Ingram, six miles east of Kerrville, the Ingram Fire Department warned residents to be vigilant.

"We are seeing the same weather pattern today that we experienced on July 4th − and we know how quickly that turned deadly," the department warned in a social media post. "This is not entertainment. This is a life-threatening situation. Your curiosity puts your life, and the lives of our first responders, at serious risk."

The confirmed death toll from the July 4 flooding had risen to 129 on Saturday, including 103 in Kerr County alone. Kerr was one of more than a dozen counties listed in the weather service advisory.

Developments:

∎ Gov. Greg Abbott said swift water rescues were underway in Lampasas County, about 100 miles northeast of Kerrville: "We continue to monitor all counties with a focus on saving lives."

∎ The Kerr County Sheriff's Office issued a "Code Red" message Sunday. "This is not an evacuation, but a preparation notification," the sheriff's office said in the social media post. "Be prepared to evacuate along the Guadalupe River due to bad weather and flooding."

∎ A candlelight vigil planned for Sunday in Ingram was postponed because of the flood threat. No new date was announced.

Texas flooding death toll rises: New flood watch in effect

Noem says new FEMA rules did not delay response

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Sunday defended FEMA's response to the floods, saying this is the fastest in years that resources were deployed to help in a natural disaster.

Noem, appearing on NBC News' "Meet the Press," denied that a memo she issued in June requiring her approval of all FEMA expenditures over $100,000 had slowed the agency's reaction to the tragedy. She also denied claims that FEMA call centers were not fully staffed.

"Those claims are absolutely false," Noem said. "Within just an hour or two after the flooding, we had resources from the Department of Homeland Security there."

Residents receiving warnings of possible flooding

Matthew Stone, who was clearing a storm sewer near his Kerrville home overlooking the Guadalupe River on Sunday, told the that he had to pull his older neighbors from their home when floods hit on the Fourth of July. He said he hoped the situation did not become that drastic with the latest rains.

Authorities in Kerr County have come under scrutiny over the timing of warnings and alerts prior to the July 4 floods. Stone said it was not an issue Sunday.

“We’ll be all right,” he said. “The cops have been coming back and forth. We’re getting lots of alerts, we’re getting a lot of support.”

'Sounds from that night will stay with us forever'

In Ingram, six miles east of Kerrville, the fire department posted a synopsis of what life has been like since the floodwaters began roaring across the region in the pre-dawn hours of the Fourth of July.

"It all began in the quiet of the early morning hours −3:15 a.m. − when we found ourselves pounding on doors, shouting into the dark, begging families to leave before it was too late," the Ingram Fire Department posted on social media, adding that "some families were able to make it out in time. Some didn’t have the chance. And for others, the help came too late.

"The sounds from that night − the screams, the rushing water, the calls for help − will stay with us forever. No training prepares you for the weight of witnessing so much loss. No uniform shields your heart from the human toll."

Since then, "everything has been a blur," the post continues. Search efforts continue and won’t stop "until every person is accounted for. We owe them that. We owe their families that."

The item concludes with a request. "Please don’t forget Ingram. Kerrville. Hunt. Center Point. Kerr County. We’re still here. We’re still fighting. And we’re still holding on to hope."

Kerr County braces for more rain

The Kerr County death toll has risen 67 adults and 36 children, according to the county's Joint Information Center. That includes at least 27 campers and counselors from Camp Mystic, an all-girls Christian camp.

Scores of residents remain missing, although it was not clear how many might have fled to safety ahead of the disaster. And officials were bracing for more flooding issues.

"There is an increasing confidence that rainfall totals of 1-3 inches could fall on what is already saturated ground," the county said in a statement on its website. The statement urged residents to watch for weather service alerts and to "stay safe out there."

'Mystic Girls' mourn camp kids, counselors who died

The deaths at the camp has stunned and saddened the world. The mourners include the "Mystic Girls," as former campers call themselves. They remember the innocence of a place and time where they say they found the best version of themselves, a place that made them who they are.

Allie Coates, now 25 and a social media manager in Los Angeles, still has a silver bracelet filled with charms from her time at camp, including an M for the most improved at canoeing.

“It was a safe space to be weird and awkward, where we could be silly and just be ourselves,” Coates told USA TODAY. “Just to be girls.” Read more here.

− Laura Trujillo

Orign Aricle on Source

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Source: AOL General News