Texas officials revised catastrophic floods, missing people in Kerr County reduced to three

Texas officials have revised the number of people missing in catastrophic floods in Kerr County, Texas, from 97 to three on Saturday.

“Through extensive follow-up efforts between state and local agencies, many of the people who were initially reported as missing have been proven to be safe and removed from the list,” the city of Kerrville said in a press release.

The historic flooding killed at least 135 people in the state during the July 4 weekend and began a massive search of dirt and debris along the Guadalupe River in central Texas.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Monday that the flooding was missing 101 people across the state, including 97 in Kerr County. Abbott said authorities will continue to look for missing persons and identify victims, suggesting that it may take several days, and suggesting that the number can be modified.

Officials said Saturday’s recovery operations will continue throughout the Guadalupe River basin as those who are still missing will continue.

“We express our deep gratitude to more than 1,000 local, state and federal authorities for their relentless work after the catastrophic floods hit our communities,” said Kelville City Manager Dalton Rice. “The number of individuals previously listed as missing has dropped from more than 160 to three, thanks to their extraordinary efforts.”

Officials told CNN Saturday that one person is still missing about 150 miles in Travis County, while Burnet County is missing.

The latest in Kerr County is about two weeks after the overcrowding rain that overnight on July 4, turning the Guadalupe River into a roaring flood that swept away houses, vehicles, roads and trees. Cole County alone has at least 107 people died, including 37 children, and at least 161 people have been reported missing in the county.

The disaster has raised serious problems with how local officials prepare for flooding months and years ago, how the Guadalupe’s behavior ranged from 3 feet to 30 feet in just 45 minutes on July 4, and how officials reacted in destructive consequences.

During a Kerr County Commissioner meeting Monday, Sheriff Larry Leitha said the search and recovery work in his office would “last for a month or two” and could last for six months. The sheriff’s office said 2,200 people from multiple agencies have been deployed to assist in the recovery of work.

The search included 60 miles of rivers, muddy water, thick mud and seemingly insurmountable debris. A small group of searchers from the United States and even Mexico are already working on dangerous terrain – with the help of helicopters, drones and ships, as well as dogs and mules.

The Kerr County Emergency Operations Center Unification Command said Saturday that more than 1,000 first responders and thousands of volunteers participated in the response.

County Judge Rob Kelly said earlier this week that those listed as missing were not campers or local residents, but tourists coming in for vacation — officials don’t know how many people were lost.

Kerr County is expected to hold a meeting Tuesday for people in flood-affected areas.

What happened on the fourth weekend of July

Months of flooding fell for months in just a few hours, with rivers rising and causing deadly flash flooding in western and central Texas on the fourth weekend in July.

It’s too late for many families to warn of deadly weather in the Texas National. Some fell asleep while others (once the extreme weather in the area) remained awake and listened to the heavy downpour and thunder that shocked their homes.

At Mystic Camp, a full-girl Christian camp, 27 campers and counselors were killed by angry water.

The camp is located in the floodplain of the Guadalupe River – which rose more than 20 feet in less than two hours during the fourth holiday in July.

Abbott highlights the unprecedented scale of the flood and highlights the coordinated response between state, local and federal agencies in ongoing recovery and relief efforts.

“I think it’s the biggest flood in Texas history, and the number of people who have been killed in Kerrville is more than those who have died in Hurricane Harvey,” Abbott said in a news conference Thursday.

Now that the storm is over, housing has become a major problem, and the Disaster Recovery Center is working to meet those needs, Abbott said.

“This is another thing we will talk about during the upcoming special session,” Abbott added.

The governor released the July 21 announcement of the Texas Special Legislative Conference to address flood warning systems, emergency communications and victim relief funds.

The statement said that some special session agendas included legislation aimed at strengthening communication, especially in flooded areas across the state – and “legislation for assessing and simplifying rules and regulations to accelerate preparation and recovery of natural disasters”.

Additional information has been updated on this story.

CNN’s Leigh Waldman, Eric Levenson and Rebekah Riess contributed to the report.

For more CNN news and newsletters, create an account on CNN.com