TAXES - The death toll from flash floods that struck central Texas on Friday has now climbed to at least 107 people and an unknown number of others are missing.
Search and rescue teams are wading through mud-piled riverbanks as more rain and thunderstorms threaten the region, but hope was fading of finding any more survivors four days after the catastrophe.
Camp Mystic, a Christian all-girls' summer camp, confirmed at least 27 girls and staff were among the dead. Five campers and one adult are still missing. The White House meanwhile rejected suggestions that budget cuts at the National Weather Service (NWS) could have inhibited the disaster response. At least 87 of the victims - 56 adults and 31 children - died in Kerr County, where the Guadalupe River was swollen by torrential downpours before daybreak on Friday, the July Fourth public holiday. Some 19 adults and seven children have yet to be identified, said the county sheriff's office. (BBC)