STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
The search for victims from the July 4 flood in Kerr County, Texas, had to be suspended for several hours yesterday.
SARAH MCCAMMON, HOST:
That's because there was another flash flood emergency along the Guadalupe River. Crews had to retreat in case water cascaded down the valley again. Right now the death toll is at least 132 people, with more than 160 listed as missing.
INSKEEP: NPR's Frank Morris has been in Central Texas, part of a large NPR team that's been covering this story day by day. Frank, good morning to you, sir.
FRANK MORRIS, BYLINE: Morning, Steve.
INSKEEP: How bad has the weather been in Kerr County over the weekend?
MORRIS: Well, it rained buckets for a while here - 10 inches of rain on parts of the Texas Hill Country here. First responders rescued dozens of people around Lampasas, Texas. Streams across the region swelled, including the Guadalupe River, which flooded so catastrophically on July 4. Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly issued an emergency order, mostly closing off the main road along the river here and ordering most volunteers out of the disaster zone. And that took a lot of volunteers out of service on the last day they would be here to help out before needing to get back to work at their paying jobs. The cleanup resumed after the search - after the river receded, but it was a stark reminder of what happened on July 4.
INSKEEP: So what do local governments, the people who now have to remain and try to help the local population - what are they doing now that we're more than a week past?
MORRIS: Well, the Kerr County Commissioners' Court meets this morning, and it's got a lot to discuss - the water supply, for one. Kerrville gets most of its drinking water from Nimitz Lake, which is a reservoir on the Guadalupe River - used to, anyway, because former Kerrville Mayor Judy Eychner says the flood dumped all kinds of stuff into that lake.
JUDY EYCHNER: It's hard to say, but from animals to possibly humans and gasoline and everything that comes from automobiles. And, you know, we had many RVs that went down the river. They broke up. You've got sewage. You've got - you name it.
MORRIS: Eychner says the city has wells it can draw on for now, but says eventually, the lake and maybe also the river's going to have to be dredged.
INSKEEP: Frank, I'm just thinking about what people have been through. You have this night of terror. You have days of horror afterward of finding out how severe the damage was. How are people doing now?
MORRIS: Well, you know, it varies, of course, Steve. Most of Kerrville didn't have any flooding at all. But it seems like most people in town know someone who died, and all the bodies of the flooding victims have gone to Grimes Funeral Chapel in Kerrville. It's a quiet but intense focal point of this tragedy. John Onstott, the funeral director there, says generally, this place may see zero to maybe five deceased people a week. Since July 4, first responders have brought more than a hundred bodies, including at least 36 children, here. All of them died violently.
JOHN ONSTOTT: It's an unimaginable tragedy, and more than anyone wouldn't - would ever expect in their lives to encounter. So of course, even the most seasoned and professional people are going to be - we all are overcome.
MORRIS: Onstott's staff isn't involved in identifying victims. That work's done by state and county agencies. But employees here have talked to a steady stream of distraught people hoping to lay eyes on their lost family members or friends.
INSKEEP: NPR's Frank Morris, thanks for being there. Thanks for talking to people face-to-face so that Americans can hear each other. Really appreciate your work.
MORRIS: You bet, Steve. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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