On early Friday morning, devastating floods swept across Texas. The Guadalupe river rose 26 feet. Hundreds, including children, ended up dead or missing. Texas and the whole country is reeling from the ruinous effects of this flood.

Image Credit: Morin from Wikimedia

How did this happen?

The floods hit in Texas Hill Country, located in central Texas. According to AP News, "[that] part of the state is naturally prone to flash flooding due to the dry dirt-packed areas where the soil lets rain skid along the surface of the landscape instead of soaking it up."

Early Friday morning, Texas Hill Country was in the midst of a bad storm, with 12 inches of rain accumulating. At 4 a.m., the National Weather Service issued a warning that "raised the potential of catastrophic damage and severe threat to humane life" (AP News).

The torrential rain and flash flooding gushing down hills went into the Guadalupe River. It rose 26 feet in 45 minutes.

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The devastating effects.

Kerr County is located in Texas Hill Country and is home to many campgrounds along the river. Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp for girls 8-17 years old was one of them. 27 campers and counselors were killed due to the floods. 10 girls and 1 counselor are still missing.

The total death count in Texas has risen to 104 so far. In Kerr County specifically, search efforts have found the bodies of 84 people, including 28 children.

The search and rescue efforts.

Gov. Greg Abbot said that across the state, more than 3 dozen people haven't been accounted for and many more could be missing.

According to AP News, "search-and-rescue crews at one staging area said Monday that more than 1,000 volunteers had been directed to Kerr County." 850 people have been rescued so far according to officials, with 400+ first responders from 20 agencies helping.

Image Credit: Tokluoğlu from Pexels.

How you can help.

To support rebuilding and relief efforts, you can donate to the Kerr County Flood Relief Fund. This supports rescue, relief, and recovery efforts in the communities of Hunt, Ingram, Kerrville, Center Point, and Comfort.

You can also donate to Texas on a Mission, Salvation Army, and the Red Cross.

🆘 Donate to Verified Relief Funds:• Kerr County Flood Relief: https://t.co/jZ7Px2wjEh• Texas on Mission: https://t.co/VyAZmgCuAS• Salvation Army: https://t.co/XL7xPBOZyL• Red Cross: https://t.co/zZBI8fOcYk

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Additionally, GoFundMe has a list of verified fundraisers you can donate to.

If you’re in the area and want to volunteer, you can volunteer to do search and rescue with the Salvation Army. Register here: 830-465-4797.

There’s also opportunities to help pets and animals effected by the floods. Austin Pets Alive is rescuing pets from the affected counties. There are opportunities to volunteer with them and temporarily foster animals.

There are donation drives around Texas that you donate items to. The Nowhere Bookshop at 5154 Broadway accepts donations of non-perishables, trash bags, hygiene items, diapers, and many more. Folklores Coffee House accepts hygiene products, detergent, cleaning supplies, non-perishable food, stuffed animals, and baby soap among other things. See the full list here.